Nothing's Simple Anymore
by queenb81385
Summary: What would happen if Tristin had never left during Run Away Little Boy?
1. Decomposing Lips

Summary: What would have happened if Tristin had never left?

Coupling Rory/Tristin

Disclaimer: I do not under any circumstances own anything that is affiliated with the Gilmore Girls' world. We have Amy Sherman- Palladino, her wonderful husband, and Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions to thank for it all.

A/N: Ok, for the sake of the story let's pretend that everything went down the way it did in Run Away Little Boy except Tristin doesn't break into Bowman's dad's safe and shows up (but still late) to be Romeo.

Chapter One: Decomposing Lips 

"Paris calm down, I'm sure he'll be here any minute now." Rory said trying to reassure Paris and herself at the same time, "He knows how important this is to you. He's not going to let you down, if for no other reason than he's mildly scared of you in pursuit for the all mighty A+."

"Don't try to sweet talk me Gilmore. You and I both know that Tristin isn't concerned with how important this is to me. He proved that at the rehearsals all week." Paris said vehemently while pacing back and forth in front of Rory.

"He really only blew off one or two. Plus I know he knows the lines, I think he's just messing with you Paris. And please stop pacing! You're making me dizzy." When Rory realized that her reassurances were having little to no effect over Paris at all, she looked at her watch. She realized that Tristin still had a good ten or fifteen minutes to get there before their scene started. She turned around and added, "I'll go look for him. Maybe he's out in the audience or something."

"Right Gilmore you go do that. Call him again. Tell him that I'm going to kill him if he's not here in time!" Paris yelled before stalking off

'_Right, that's the motivation he needs, to be threatened with death_, Rory thought to herself. The idea of having to go back out to the audience made Rory cringe as she realized that Dean had her cell phone and in order to call Tristin she'd have to go and get it from him. _That's just what I need. Dean freaking out because I have all of Tristin's numbers saved in my phone, and I'm actually going to use them,_ Rory thought to herself as she walked over to her mom. "Hey mom, you haven't seen Tristin out here anywhere have you?" Rory asked averting her eyes away from Dean's gaze.

"No hun. I sure haven't. Shouldn't Romeo be back there with you getting into all that Elizabethan time period clothing that your slave driver otherwise known as Paris forced me to spend hours making last week?" Lorelai said not noticing the tense look on Dean's face.

"Well technically he should be but he's not and the slave driver is freaking out backstage. If he's not here in ten minutes I think she's going to make me kiss like twenty people to see who can replace him." Rory said causing Lorelai to burst out laughing

"That's not really funny." Dean said his voice completely devoid of any happiness.

"I was just kidding Dean. Can I have my phone please." Rory said looking him in the eye

"Yeah, here. Who are you calling?"

"I have to find Tristin before Paris has an aneurysm." Rory said while looking at Dean as if he was insane.

Just then Paris came darting from backstage. "Did you find him?" she yelled to Rory.

"No, I'm going to try his cell phone first." Rory told her. She stood there looking at her mom while she dialed the number she had memorized last year right after their kiss at Madeline's party. She had debated whether or not to call him all weekend then and had actually hung up whent he maid answered several times.

"You know the number by heart?" Dean said jealousy dripping from his voice. Rory just nodded and walked away so that she could hear the phone.

"Be jealous later Lover Boy, right now we have to find him." Paris said her voice lacking any emotion whatsoever.

"Why can't _you_ call him?" Dean asked Paris

"Well for one, _I_ don't know his number off the top of my head like Rory. Secondly he doesn't respond to me very well. But Rory…"

"He does anything she asks. Because he has a thing for her." Dean said filling in the pause Paris left open.

Rory could hear the conversation going on between Paris and Dean. The second she heard the tone of Dean's voice she knew that she would have to do some serious damage control later on with Dean. _'This is Tristin. I'm not here. Leave a message. Bye.' _Rory sighed when the voice mail picked up. "Tristin this is Rory. I'm trying to find you! Paris is having a nervous breakdown and if you aren't here soon I'm going to end up either dead or kissing Brad. Please get here or call me or something. Bye." _Great. This is just great._ Rory thought to herself while looking at the time on her cell. Tristin had exactly five minutes to get here before they had to find a replacement fast. "He didn't answer Paris. Should I try his house?" Rory asked her after she walked back over to them.

"Yeah. If he's still there he can get here in ten minutes. I'm going to go force someone else's scene to switch times with us." Paris said, "And start prepping Bad. If he's not here in ten minutes Brad is our new Romeo." and then she walked away

"I am not kissing Brad! Damn it Tristin!" Rory said. She hadn't meant to say it out loud but soon realized that she had after Dean's head whipped around to look at her.

"So you'd rather kiss Tristin?" Dean said questioningly

"I don't have time for this Dean. I have to call Tristin's house." Rory said and then dialed her cell again.

"Another number you know off the top of your head. God Rory just how often do you call the accountant?" Dean said anger apparent in his voice causing Lorelai's head to pop up and lock eyes with Rory.

Lorelai could see Rory's eyes pleading with her for help. "Now is not the time Dean. Is it ringing Ror?" Lorelai said

Rory just nodded her head and listened to the phone ring. The phone was answered on the fourth ring. _"Dugrey residence."_

Thank God. "Hello this is Rory Gilmore. I'm a friend of Tristin's. Is he there by any chance?"

"_Oh Ms. Gilmore I believe he left here with his parents about fifteen minutes ago."_

"Do you have a number in which I can reach him at? He isn't answering his cell phone. It's really important."

"_I suppose I could give you his father's cell phone number. If it's really important."_

"I assure you it's extremely important. I wouldn't ask if it wasn't."

"_Ok, well.. do you have a pen?"_

"Mom, pen now…" Rory said to her mother who promptly handed her a pen and held out her hand for Rory to write on. "Ok, I have one now."

"_It's 7-4-5-2-9-8-1."_

"Thank you so much. You are a life saver."

"_You're welcome Ms. Gilmore."_

Rory hung up the phone as Paris walked up. "I bought us fifteen more minutes. Find him?"

"I know he's in the car with his father. Who I am about to call." Rory said while dialing the number on her mothers hand.

"_Dugrey._"

"Mr. Dugrey? This is Rory Gilmore I'm a friend of Tristin's. I was wondering if he was there with you. I tried calling his cell but I just keeping the voice mail and the maid at your house gave me this number. It's really important."

"_Yes he's right here Ms. Gilmore. Hold on a second._" There was a pause and Rory could hear a muffled it's for you before he handed the phone to Tristin. "_Rory?_"

"WHERE IN THE HELL ARE YOU TRISTIN?" Rory yelled into the phone.

"_I swear to you I'll be there in two minutes. There was this really big accident on the way over there and we were delayed. I'm so sorry. I just checked my voice mail and was about to call you. Tell Paris I'm sorry._"

"He says he'll be here in two minutes. There was an accident or something." She watched Paris roll her eyes."He says he's sorry." Rory told Paris. She heard Paris mumble something that sounded like _yeah right I bet he's sorry_, before turning her attention back to Tristin. "Where are you now?"

"_Let me call you back._"

"No… damn it Tristin." Rory said but it was too late. He had already hung up on her. She was about to call him back when her phone rang. "Hello."

"_I told you I was going to call you back._" Tristin said. He had just walked into the auditorium and was looking at Rory across the room.

"Where are you?" Rory said walking away from Dean and her mom

"_In Chilton_." He saw her walk away from her mom and who he guessed was the bag boy.

"It's about time."

"_You're annoyed with me_." Tristin stated. It wasn't a question. He could tell she was angry. He knew she was going to be angry but there was really nothing he could do about it. He had tried to call her but her phone was off. He started walking towards her.

"I'm not annoyed with you. Paris is annoyed with you and she's taking it out on me."

"_Well I'm sorry. I tried to call you to tell you I was going to be late, but your phone was off and so was Paris'._" Tristin said doing his best to defend himself.

"I know you are. And I know it was off. I turned it off when I handed it to Dean earlier. I gotta get off the phone though. Dean is shooting me funny looks."

Tristin tensed at the mention of Dean. He really didn't like that guy one bit. When Rory had come to him earlier in the week trying to get him to open up and talk to her he had hoped that maybe she was rethinking where he stood. But now hearing her bring him up he knew that probably wasn't the case. She was just being a nice person and thought that she could maybe help him through whatever it was that made him turn to guys like Bowman. "_Ok, bye._" He told her. He watched her walk back over to Dean and turn her phone off. She handed it to Dean and he put it in his pocket. Tristin walked up behind her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Hey Mary. You didn't think I'd miss our big kissing scene did you? Or that I'd let Brad have the honor of kissing you?" he said smiling cockily at Dean.

Rory looked at her mom who was trying to stifle the laughter that Rory could see clearly on her face. Then she turned towards Dean who looked like he wanted to kill Tristin. Realizing that Tristin's arm was still around her shoulder she jerks out of his touch and looked at him. "I'm dead. There is no big kissing scene. There's you kissing my decomposing lips." She turned back around and kissed Dean on the cheek said a quick goodbye and grabbed Tristin and pulled him backstage.

AN: Ok, this is the first installment. I'm still not officially sure where this story is headed but read and review anyway. For those of you awaiting an update on my other story _The Best Laid Plans_ I have no idea when you should expect an update. I am having serious complications with that story and decided to take a break and start this one. Sorry…


	2. Chivalry is Clearly Dead

Summary: What would happen if Tristin never left?

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Gilmore Girls related. I wish I owned Chad Michael Murray but since I don't think it will become legal to buy or own people again anytime soon, I doubt it will happen.

AN: I guess that I should probably warn you that I can not stand Rory and Dean together, mainly because I think Dean is far to clingy, so if there is some Dean bashing please don't be upset. If I made Dean a great guy then this story could never be a Rory/Tristin story now could it?

Chapter Two: Chivalry is Clearly Dead

Tristin knew that deliberately aggravating Dean was a bad idea but he couldn't help himself. He had felt Rory's body tense the second he put his arm around her but he also felt her body relax against his almost immediately. He was positive that Rory had realized that too and felt guilty for it. Hence the way Rory was practically ripping his arm out of the socket to get him backstage. "Damn it Rory… if you yank a little harder you might actually rip my arm off."

"Boo hoo… We're on in five minutes." Rory said throwing his costume at him, "Get dressed before I call Paris. And if you think I am angry at you then wait till you see her!" Rory snapped and then walked away in a huff. She turned around in time to see Tristin go into the bathroom to change and when she turned around she was face to face with Dean. _I really don't want to deal with him right now_ she thought to herself. "Dean."

"Rory."

"What are you doing back here?" she asked him confused as to why he wasn't still in the auditorium with her mom.

"I really don't like that guy Rory."

"Please tell me you didn't come back here to tell me that? I know that you don't like him. It's not a surprise to me. The question is why?"

"He has a thing for you." Dean told her repeating the words he had been trying to drill into her head since the first time he met Tristin.

"He's barely spoken to me all year Dean. Somehow I don't think that constitutes as him having a thing for me. Plus like I've told you million times since the beginning of the week. I am with you, not Tristin." Rory told him. The jealousy thing Dean was sporting had been cute at first but now it was quickly becoming a problem.

"Then what was that thing he just did out there Rory. Him not having a thing for you?"

"Did you ever think that quite possibly that was an attempt to get to you. It's easy and Tristin knows it. And Tristin loves to irritate you. It's like his favorite past time." Rory said rolling her eyes at her boyfriend.

Dean still didn't look convinced even though he knew that she was right. He still had this feeling in the pit of his stomach that Tristin was going to be a bigger and bigger problem in their relationship. A door opened and Dean and Rory both looked up. Tristin was walking out of the bathroom dressed in his Romeo costume. Tristin looked over at them just in time to see Dean lean down and kiss Rory on her lips. "For luck." Dean told her before he walked out the room and back towards the audience.

Rory looked back over at Tristin and had to admit that her mother had done an amazing job on the costume. It fit Tristin perfectly and actually looked wonderful on him. _He would have fit into that time period so well. Maybe not emotionally because lets face it there isn't a chivalrous bone in Tristin's body but appearance wise he would have fit._ Rory thought to herself. She must have been staring or zoned out or something because she hadn't even noticed him walking towards her.

"See something you like Mary?" Tristin asked.

His cocky smile was glued to his face and Rory couldn't help but smile at him before getting her jab it. "Yeah my boyfriend, but he went back outside."

At the mention of Dean Tristin's smile faded, but he put it back on hoping Rory hadn't seen it leave his face for even a second. "Well lucky him then I guess. I wonder what he's going to think when I'm kissing you up there on stage in about five minutes."

Rory was about to say something although she was unsure what; she just knew that she had to have a comeback for him, but was saved by an unsuspecting Paris. Who just walked past them and barked "ON STAGE NOW!"

AN: Ok I'm sorry this is so short but I wanted to post something and this seemed like a good place to stop at. Read and Review...


	3. I Thought She Could Cry

Summary: What would happen if Tristin never left Chilton?

Disclaimer: I do not under any circumstances own anything affiliated with Gilmore Girls. That honor is strictly reserved for Amy Sherman- Palladino, Daniel Palladino, and Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions… Lucky them huh…

Chapter Three: I Thought She Could Cry

Dean knew that Tristin was just trying to get him to react. He did it in the grocery store earlier that week and Rory had to separate them. Having Rory fight his battles for him was embarrassing and having her do it in front of the accountant was completely mortifying. He couldn't shake the fact that when Rory ran into Doose's she pushed him out and not Tristin, as if she were defending Tristin and not him. That wasn't the only thing that was bothering him though. The words _I'm here for Rory_ and _I'm Romeo, and she's Juliet. Hey, come on she must have told you. She did tell you didn't she?_ were constantly running through his head. Why didn't she tell him? She didn't even tell him that the accountant was in her group. He distinctly remembered asking her who was in her group a few hours before Tristin showed up at the market who was in her group and she specifically said Paris, Louise, Madeline and some guy named Brad. The words Tristin Dugrey never even left her mouth. She lied to him. He had a sinking feeling that she was keeping something from him and the fact that Rory had every single one of the accountant's phone numbers embedded in her memory plus the conversation they were all having at rehearsals last night just added to his suspicion.

Flashback

"_Oh true apothecary. Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die." Tristin said leaning in to kiss Rory but pulled back suddenly_

"_What!" Paris yelled_

"_Well, it's just, with this being our last kiss and all, it makes me think about our first kiss. You know, at the party." Tristin said looking straight at Dean with a cocky smirk on his face._

"_What?" Rory said sitting up at rocket speed_

"_Lie down, you're dead!" Paris snapped at her_

"_We all are." Louise said bored_

"_You remember the kiss. In Act 1 at the Capulet's masked party?" Tristin asked looking over at Paris._

"_Yes what about it?" Paris asked _

"_Well I was just trying to think of something that would make this kiss as special as that one." Tristin said looking back at Rory._

"_Tristin." Rory said pleadingly _

"_I thought she could cry." Tristin said looking directly at Dean_

"_What?" Rory said hoping he would just drop it and remember that he said he wouldn't tell Dean about the kiss at Madeline's party._

"_She's dead. You're dead, lie down." Paris said becoming more annoyed with the tangent Tristin had led them on._

"_Yeah, but that's the beauty of it. No one would expect her to cry." Tristin said still looking straight at Dean_

"_I would." Dean said looking straight at Rory anger boiling within him_

"_You know… funny you should say that." Tristin started _

"_I need to take five!" Rory yelled jumping up and glaring at Tristin before heading in Dean's direction._

…

"_He is unbelievable." Dean started when Rory dragged him outside._

"_Dean I really need you to leave."_

End Flashback

After Rory said those words he had pretty much tuned out. She wanted him to leave. Not Tristin. But him. _I thought she could cry_ Tristin had said. _It's just with this being our last kiss and all, I can't help but think about our first kiss. You know at the party._ What was he going on about. Dean had meant to ask her about it later on after that but he didn't want to start a fight with her. Plus he didn't want to admit he was jealous of the accountant. When the words _our first kiss_ came out of Tristin's mouth his eyes had darted straight to Rory who had bolted up from the dead. He searched her eyes once they left Tristin and all he could see was fear. Fear for what he was unsure but the fear was definitely there.

AN: Ok, so this is it for this chapter… I know it was really short but I didn't want to do much with Dean at this moment. I was kind of stuck with how to write the Shakespeare scene. I also think I'm going to add the safe prank back in but I don't know how I'm going to yet. SO I guess just Read and Review…

AN2: Also the italics in the flashbackand the Dean and Tristin dialogue are taken directly from the episode Run Away Little Boy…


	4. I'm Not Hitting On You

Summary: What would happen if Tristin had never left Chilton?

Disclaimer: As obsessed as I am, and believe me I am, I have yet figured out a way to claim ownership on the Gilmore Girls or Chad Michael Murray. It sucks to be.

AN: It seems as if Congratulations are in order. Millions of teenage girls around the world are sad and crying. According to the cover of US Weekly it appears that Chad Michael Murray and Sophia Bush have tied the knot on April 16, 2005. According to the article the wedding was beautiful and the newlyweds were extremely happy. So Congratulations Chad and Sophia!

Chapter Four: I'm Not Hitting On You 

Paris was outraged. He took his sweet time getting here. He wouldn't taker her phone calls. Their maid had given her absolutely nothing, no special cell phone number, no information about when he left or with whom he left with, nothing. Rory calls once on his cell and leaves a voicemail, she calls the house once and the maid spills her guts and gives Rory Greg Dugrey's cell phone number. Then Tristin comes running in here, and still thinks he has time to flirt with Rory, in front of her boyfriend no less. When he's finally forced backstage he starts apologizing profusely to Rory before throwing two meaningless "I'm sorry Paris'" at her. When Tristin went to get dressed in the bathroom Paris noticed the elder Dugrey walk into the auditorium. It was that moment that she knew something was up. Greg Dugrey wouldn't be caught dead at something like this. She made a mental note to show or voice her concerns, if not directly to Tristin then through Rory, after the show was over. She watched Tristin walk out of the bathroom in his Romeo costume and saw his face fall when he witnessed the "for luck" kiss Rory's farm boy boyfriend was giving her; and for a split second she almost felt sorry for him. She knew that Rory was so much more than a toy to Tristin and that it must be killing him to see her like this with Dean. Then when Dean left and Rory turned around to see Tristin staring at her with a frown on her face, Paris saw a spark of something in Rory's face that almost looked like remorse and decided that then would be the perfect time to command everyone on stage. And she did.

Rory took her place on the stage. She took her place on the bed and lied down. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them. The second she opened her eyes they are locked immediately with Tristin's. "Hey Mary. Are you nervous?"

"Of course not. I've been over this scene thousands of times thanks to Paris. You on the other hand should be. You went through the scene twice in its entirety, both without the kiss." Rory said with a slight smirk on her face. She then noticed a look of slight apprehension on his. "Are you actually nervous Bible Boy?" Rory asked him sitting up and looking at him.

Tristin smirked right back at her. "Just anxious Mary, just anxious. Lie down , close your eyes and get ready for our kiss Juliet."

Rory's face took on a slight frown but regardless she did lie down and close her eyes. "Don't get cocky Dugrey. I'm dead, I won't be responsive."

Tristin smiled, taking pride in the fact that she couldn't see his face. He took a lengthy pause and watched her squirm in uneasiness. He could tell she was about to say something and her mouth opened slightly. He leaned over her and placed his mouth directly beside her ear. "Don't be so sure about that sweetheart." The second his breath grazed her ears her entire body tensed. He could tell it and so could she.

Rory was about to say something and started to sit up yet again but Tristin put his hands on her arms and stopped her. "What are you doing? Let me go!" Rory snapped

"Would if I could darlin'. Show's starting. Lie down, be dead Juliet." Tristin said

Rory smiled slightly completely unsure what exactly she was smiling about, but laid back down and closed her eyes anyway. "Whatever Romeo."

With most of the scene underway, Tristin was surprised that he actually was feeling a bit nervous. Tristin was a performer, that much was clear. He always had been. But the big kiss scene was coming up and he was nervous. It wasn't even a big kiss scene. It was just him brushing his lips against hers for less than a minute. The kiss between Rory and him at Madeline's party last year lasted far longer than this one was going to. Plus it wasn't like she even wanted him to kiss her this time. But he was still nervous.

Rory was for lack of a better word, nervous. It wasn't that the idea of kissing Tristin was making her nervous, she'd already done that before. Besides this kiss during the play wasn't even a real kiss. It was the idea of Tristin's lips on her while Dean was standing there watching that was making her nervous. Dean was already beyond jealous. That much Rory was sure of. She wasn't entirely sure why he was jealous but he was. She thought she had made it perfectly clear to Dean that she wasn't going to leave him for Tristin. That she loved him, not Tristin. Rory was shaken out of her thoughts by Tristin's words.

"_Oh true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die."_

Tristin's lips brushed up against Rory's and he felt her entire body tense. He held his lips on hers a second and half longer than the act called for. By the time his lips left hers her entire body had relaxed and Tristin thought that maybe if he didn't have to stop that she would have kissed him back.

When his lips reached hers Rory hadn't anticipated the electricity that was created by the staged kiss. His lips remained on hers for a second and a half longer than she expected for them to. She had to force herself not to open her eyes or to react to the kiss. The words "_Don't be cocky Dugrey. I'm dead I won't be responsive." _and "_Don't be so sure about that sweetheart._" were running through her mind. _"Damn you Tristin!"_ Rory thought to herself as he removed his lips and died. The curtain closed and clapping could be heard from the other side.

"So… good scene." Tristin said offering his hand to pull her up after he stood

"Yeah… good scene." Rory said accepting his offered hand allowing him to pull her up

The two stood there for about a minute and a halfneither of them noticing they were still holding hands. Rory was about tosay goodbye and walk awaywhen they were interrupted. "Tristin! Come here now!" Greg Dugrey yelled to his son.

"One second dad. I'll be right there." Tristin said to his father

"NOW!"

Tristin looked over at Rory and she unconsciously squeezed his hand. "There's something that I want to talk to you about Ror. It's kind of important, and before you make that face you make when you think I'm about to hit on you, it has absolutely nothing to do with you. I just need to talk to someone about it." He told her.

"Why me? Why not Paris or one of your other friends?" Rory asked confused

"I'll explain that later. How long will you be here?"

"Not much longer. I'm probably going to go to dinner with my mom and Dean."

At the mention of Dean Tristin looked down at their entwined hands. "Oh well, then maybe I'll just call you or something…" he told her his voice trailing off.

"Tristin is everything ok?" her voice drowning with worry.

"I'm not sure." He said too quietly for her to hear with his face still pointed downward looking at their hands.

"What?" she asked before looking down to see what he was looking at. She saw their hands and tensed.

Tristin noticing her tense let go of her hand. He knew she was probably trying to figure out a way to extract her hand without looking like an idiot. "I said Yes. Everything is fine. I just wanted to talk to you. Is that so wrong?"

Rory noticed a change in his demeanor and decided to ignore it. "No, Tristin that isn't so wrong. Tell you what I'll be home around 10 tonight. Call me or whatever and we'll talk ok."

"TRISTIN NOW!" came the voice of Greg Dugrey from around the hallway.

"I gotta go, but we'll talk tonight?" Tristin said to her questioningly.

"Yes, we'll talk tonight." Rory told him

Tristin wanted to kiss her on the cheek but noticed that Dean was standing behind her watching them. He couldn't help but wonder how long he had been there and hoped for Rory's sake that he hadn't seen them holding hands. "I'd kiss you goodbye but your boyfriend's watching." He said before sauntering off to his father.

Rory just watched him walk away before turning around to come face to face with Dean. "Dean. Hi…"

AN: Ok so that's chapter four, done. Read and Review.. lemme know if you like it.


	5. No Choice

Summary: What would have happened if Tristin would have never left Chilton?

Disclaimer: I do not nor will I ever own Gilmore Girls, unless I am dreaming, then I might.

AN: Ok, so I don't want to be one of those authors who throw Rory and Tristin together right away in some unrealistic way. I also don't want to be one of those that throw them together right after Rory and Dean break up. I love long fan fics and I'm hoping that this will end up being one.

Chapter Five: No Choice

Dean stared at Rory. He had heard her tell Tristin to call her tonight and they would talk. He was trying his best to hold his jealousy in, but it was becoming extremely hard to do so. "We should find your mom." He told her calmly.

Rory just nodded and looked back over her shoulder to see if Tristin was still there. When she noticed him gone but could still hear the faint yelling of what sounded like Tristin and his father, she found her voice. "I have to find Paris first. You go find mom, and then meet me out front in fifteen minutes ok?"

Dean looked skeptical. Had seen her look over her shoulder for the accountant and part of him couldn't help but think she wanted to go off after him. He started to tell her that she could talk to Paris tomorrow but then saw Paris walking towards them. Paris walked right over to Rory, not even acknowledging Dean and said, "I have to tell you something."

"I'll go and find Lorelai. Fifteen minutes be enough Paris?" Dean said

"Yeah lover boy fifteen minutes is fine." Paris said her voice full of disdain.

"Ok, I'll see you then." Dean said to Rory before kissing her on the cheek and turning to find Lorelai.

Once Dean was gone Rory looked at Paris and said "What is it?"

"I'm worried about someone we both know."

"Who?"

"Tristin."

Rory looked flabbergasted. Paris had done nothing but complain about Tristin all week and now she was worried. "Why?"

Paris took a deep breath. "Well you know he's been getting into a lot of trouble lately and I know that his father is starting to take notice. Plus his grandfather, who is basically the only person in that house who gives a damn about him, is really sick. Normally I would just assume that Greg Dugrey was going to let Tristin get away with whatever he's doing, and I was doing just that until I saw Greg Dugrey here tonight. Tristin's father is not the kind of person who shows up at these kind of things. He barely ever sets foot on Chilton's grounds, so when he's here it's usually important." Paris rambled off at a speed to make any Gilmore girl proud.

"Paris take a deep breath. Ok, now if you're worried about him why don't you talk to him. Why come to me?"

"Let's face facts Gilmore. I may have known him since we were in diapers but he doesn't like me. You on the other hand, he trusts. He likes you. It's not fair, but that's the way it is. And I'm really worried about him. Too worried in fact to keep my pride incheck and not say something to someone he'd listen to."

Rory was stunned. There could be no way that she and her opinions could have that much of an affect on him. "Look Paris, I tried to talk to him at the beginning of the week because I was concerned and he just brushed me off. I'm worried about him too, but mainly because I heard his father yelling at him. I'll talk to him but it might already be too late."

Paris was confused. She thought Rory hated Tristin. Why would she try to talk to him about whatever it was? "His father was yelling at him? That's not like Greg Dugrey. He doesn't care what Tristin does. He rarely ever even talks to Tristin. This is not good. Now I'm more sure than ever you have to talk to him."

"I said I'll try Paris."

"That's all I ask Gilmore." Paris said to her and then turned around and walked away.

Rory stood there for a few minutes too stunned to move. If what Paris told her was true, then Tristin must be in serious trouble. Rory looked up at the clock on the wall and decided it was time to go meet her mom and Dean outside.

"How could you be so careless Tristin!" Greg Dugrey yelled at his son once they were out of Rory and the rest of Chilton's earshot.

"I just wasn't thinking. It wasn't supposed to be a big deal. Bowman had the key to the safe. I didn't even take anything out of it." Tristin said in a monotone voice

"Well Duncan and Bowman did and you're being blamed for it as well. Of all the stupid, careless things you could have done! Why? Why in God's name would you break into a safe? You have a massive amount of money in your bank account! You have three credit cards with absolutely no limit. So it can't be because of the money. So tell me now! Why!" Greg Dugrey yelled louder

Tristin looked around and saw people coming around the corner. He knew they had heard everything. His face fell when he saw that the people coming around the corner were Rory's mom and Dean. "Dad can we please talk about this at home?" Tristin pleaded

Greg looked around and saw Lorelai and Dean as well, but they didn't humble him like they did Tristin. "Why! Am I embarrassing you? Like you're embarrassing the Dugrey family name? Do you not want these two as an audience to witness this landmark in your life? To witness yet again another screw up from you!"

Of course he didn't want them to see this. He knew that any minute Rory would show up too, and Dean would have no problem filling her in on the screaming match. "No."

"What did you say?"

"I said no."

"No what!"

"NO DAD I DON'T WANT THIS PARTICULAR AUDIENCE TO SEE ME SCREW UP!" Tristin yelled at him. He knew the second he raised his voice that it was the wrong thing to do. He turned away from his father and saw Rory standing there.

"What's going on?" Rory whispered to Dean and her mom

"Tristin's getting reamed by his father." Lorelai said as if it was an everyday occurrence that they got to witness

"And you two are just standing here listening? This is wrong. Come on you two." Rory said slightly disgusted

"They're talking about us." Dean stated

"What do you mean?" Rory asked

"Just listen." Lorelai and Dean both whispered at the same time

"No this is wrong. We're leaving now." Rory said and grabbed Lorelai's arm. She had just about started to pull when she heard _"NO DAD I DON'T WANT THIS PARTICULAR AUDIENCE TO SEE ME SCREW UP!"_ come out of Tristin's mouth. She looked over to him and saw him look up at her. He looked so defeated.

"Don't you dare raise your voice at me young man!" Greg Dugrey yelled, "Find another way home. You aren't fit to ride with me. And don't think for a second that there won't be a discussion tonight when you get home. Remember that nice military school in North Carolina I always threaten you with. It's still there boy and they are just waiting for my call." He said and then stormed off.

Rory shoved Lorelai out the door and Dean followed behind them. "What were you two doing? Eavesdropping on what was obviously supposed to be a private argument between those two!"

"Ow Rory! If you're going to yell at me could you at least let go of my arm. You're hurting me. Believe me we didn't mean to listen but we were waiting for you and they were screaming. We could have still been in the auditorium and heard them." Lorelai said

Dean who had just been standing there watching Rory shove Lorelai out the door looked up at Rory. There was anger radiating waves off of her. She was beyond angry.

"And you," Rory said turning towards Dean, "telling me to just listen. I bet you enjoyed that. Watching him get screamed at! Didn't you?" Rory snapped

Finally Dean had had enough. He wasn't going to stand here and watch her stick up for the accountant and belittle him. "Why are you defending him? You don't even know what he did!"

"Dean, how about we not yell at my daughter." Lorelai said calmly

"No, mom I can fight my own battles. Tell me Dean what crime did he commit that earned him the right to be belittled and humiliated like that in a school full of people and his peers. Tell me what he did to deserve that!" Rory yelled at Dean

Dean couldn't believe her. She was treating him like he was the bad guy when he had done nothing wrong. "He broke into someone's safe Rory! He is a criminal. And I'm not going to pretend that I didn't get some perverse thrill out of listening to him finally get a little bit of what he deserved. For once the accountant had to face what he had done and accept the consequences of his actions. He was wrong Rory not me, and you're defending him. What does that say about us Ror? Where do your loyalties really lie? With a guy who at the end of last year you told me you hated or with me who you love?"

"This has nothing to do with our relationship Dean! He didn't deserve to be publicly humiliated! Nobody deserves that." Rory yelled to Dean. She caught her mother looking at something out of the corner of her eye. She turned her gaze towards her mother. "What are you looking at?" She asked her mom in a snippy tone but muttered "Sorry" right after.

"Tristin." Lorelai said before turning around and watching Greg Dugrey speed out of the parking lot.

"Oh." Rory said and started walking towards him.

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" Dean yelled to her

"I'm checking on him." Rory said but was halted by Dean's hand on her arm.

"No."

"No?"

"No. We're going home." Dean said looking at Rory.

"Ok." She said to Dean and then yelled, "MOM!"

"Yea sweets?" Lorelai yelled back

"Take Dean home. I'll get a ride back from Paris."

"Is Paris still here?"

"Yeah. She was staying to take apart the sets for extra credit."

"Ok, come on Dean." Lorelai said and started walking towards her Jeep.

"No, Rory I'm not going anywhere. I'm not leaving you here with him." Dean yelled

"Dean, right now you don't have a choice." Rory said and then walked away from Dean

AN: Ok, so read and review and let me know if you like it

AN2: Also… to my reviewer Crissy: I'm trying to incorporate all the reasons why Dean is jealous and I'm not sure if I'm doing a good job. I've yet to find a fic that shows it all either but I'm trying. Bare with me and let me know if you think of anything to help me.

AN3: Also, I wouldn't mind having a Beta so if anyone's interested just let me know.


	6. I Thought She Was With You

Summary: What if Tristin had never left Chilton?

Disclaimer: I don't own these people. Only in my widest dreams could I ever have control over what happens on Gilmore Girls. If I could Dean would have been gone a long time ago.

Chapter Six: I Thought She Was With You 

Rory watched Dean and Lorelai drive away and sighed. She had no clue if Paris was really here and hadn't really expected that she was. She watched Tristin sit on the steps at Chilton with his face in his hands. She knew that her and Dean were going to fighting about this for a while but regardless she took a deep breath and walked over to the steps. He didn't seem to notice her sit down next to him, but came out of the trance he was in when he felt her pull one of his hands away from his face and hold it in her own. He turned his head towards her to face her and she just smiled and squeezed his hand. She could tell that he was either on the verge of crying or had just finished because his eyes were bloodshot and the thought of him crying disheartened her. They sat there for a good ten minutes neither saying a word just holding hands and staring at the ground. The wind blew and Rory shivered against the cold breeze. Tristin dropped her hand and shrugged his jacket off and wrapped it around her. She slipped her arms through the sleeves and looked over at him and smiled. "Thank you." She whispered quietly

Tristin smiled at her and grabbed for her hand again. They sat in silence for another minute or two before he spoke. "What are you doing here?"

"I didn't hear the whole thing. I only caught the end." Rory started

"And you thought I'd fill in the blanks. Why don't you ask your boyfriend I'm sure he'd fill you in." Tristin said interrupting her, his voice full of pain and anger as he yanked his hand from hers.

"No, I just wanted to make sure you were ok." She said softly reaching for his hand again.

"You shouldn't have stayed. Remember my car isn't here. I can't take you home. I can't take me home. Not that I want to go back there tonight anyway." Tristin said, his voice returning to the quiet it was before his outburst. He allowed her to take his hand back and place it in hers on her lap.

"I wasn't expecting a ride home Tristin. Like I said I wanted to make sure you were ok."

"You still shouldn't have stayed."

"I wanted to."

"I heard him you know."

"Who?"

"Dean. He's angry with you. He wanted you to go home with him."

"Yea, well it's time Dean learns not to order me around. I'm not some puppet he can manipulate into doing or thinking what he wants me to. I have my own mind and I wanted to check on you. Plus we were supposed to talk tonight remember."

"I remember." Tristin said gently. They sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity. "I broke into Bowman's dad's safe."

"You what?" Rory said

"Me, Bowman, and Duncan. We broke into his dad's safe. Duncan and Bowman took money but I didn't take anything. I was more or less the lookout. That's why I was really late. The police were letting our parents handle it and I couldn't leave until my dad got there."

"So, you apologize to his father explain that you were going through a hard time, and that you have never been more sorry that you are now." Rory said trying to give him a solution

"Bowman's dad isn't the problem now. My dad is. I think he's going to send me to military school."

"What!"

"He's been threatening me with it for years. He's on a first name basis with everyone in the admissions office. They have a spot open just waiting for me. Waiting for him to call and say he's sending me."

"He can't send you to military school."

"He can and he will."

They sat there in silence both thinking through what was just said. Rory couldn't fathom Chilton without Tristin making her life a living hell. She shivered from another cold breeze causing Tristin to look at her. "Are you cold?" he asked her quietly

"Yeah. The jacket's helping but not much." Rory said

Tristin stood up pulling her with him. "Come on. It's warm inside."

They went inside and say back down in the auditorium on the edge of the stage. "Tristin can I ask you something?"

"Yeah Ror. Ask away."

"Was this what you wanted to talk to me about? The safe incident?"

"Yeah. I wanted to warn you that I might not be here next week. You're the only one here that I'd even come close to missing, not that I think you'd miss me or anything, but I would miss you Mary."

"Why?"

"Why what? Why would I miss you?"

"No. Why did you tell me? Why was I the only one you would talk to about this?"

"You sought me out the other day Rory. We both know it was just so that I wouldn't tell Dean about the kiss at Madeline's party, but then you tried to open me up. You sounded concerned, and I couldn't help but think that I'd seriously screwed up with you. That if I hadn't been such a jerk about PJ Harvey that we'd have been friends over the summer. That I wouldn't have fallen in with Duncan and Bowman by default and I wouldn't be in this mess. That me and you could just get along. But then my pride kicked in and I smarted off to you. I'm sorry about that by the way. But the concern I heard in your voice, it wasn't fake, it was real. And it was only coming from you."

"That's not true. Paris was concerned about you too."

"And how do you know that?"

"She told me so. She said the second she saw your father tonight she started worrying about you. But she said she knew you would blow her off and asked me if I'd talk to you. Since I was already planning on doing it I agreed. But she was really worried about you too."

"Oh." he said. There was a long pause in which no one said anything or moved a muscle. "Are you warm yet?"

"Yeah. Do you want you jacket back?"

"No, I'm fine. Keep it on." Another pause and then, "So Mary how do you propose we get home?"

Dean and Lorelai drove half way home from Hartford in complete silence. They were both shaken out of their reverie by the shrill ringing of Lorelai's cell phone.

"Hello." Lorelai said

"_Lorelai. This is Paris. Is Rory around?"_

"I thought she was with you."

"_If she were with me would I be calling you?"_

"Well, obviously Paris I know she's not with you now, but regardless I thought she was with you." Lorelai could see Dean's face contort in anger when she said that.

"_Well she's not with me. Where else could she be?"_

_Damn it Rory! _"I left her on the front steps at Chilton with Tristin. She said she'd catch a ride back with you."

"_I'm not at Chilton anymore. I left fifteen minutes ago. Oh well will you tell her to call me when he brings her home."_

_Damn It Rory! _"He can't bring her home. He doesn't have his car with him and his dad sped off without him." Lorelai said thinking the whole time _Damn it how am I going to get her home._ "Paris can I ask you a favor."

"_I guess."_

"Can you pick Rory and Tristin up for me?"

"_Yeah I guess so, I'm headed back up there anyway I left my Spanish book backstage. Do you want me to bring her to Stars Hollow?"_

"If you wouldn't mind yes please. Thank you." Lorelai said and then wished to god that Dean wasn't there when she heard herself say, "Bring him back here too please."

"_Ok, I'll see you soon. Bye."_ Paris said and then hung up.

Lorelai hung up her phone and looked back at Dean. "Why would you bring him back to your house!"

"Dean look, this jealousy thing you have going here is going to cost you Rory. You need to tone it down a notch."

"He has a thing for her! What is with you Gilmore girls? Are you both completely blind to him. And I think my jealousy is starting to be deserved. She lied to you! To be with him."

"Look Dean, I watched you raise your voice at my daughter today twice and I called you on it both times, what makes you think you can raise it at me. I'm not Rory. I'm not in love with you. I won't listen to it. And for your sake you better hope you never do that to her in front of Luke cause you'll never see her again. Now Rory didn't lie. Maybe she missed Paris. Maybe she couldn't find her."

"Ok, I'm sorry for raising my voice at you and her, its just he makes me crazy. Yesterday at the rehearsal he said something about a kiss and Rory looked so scared. Like he was about to tell me something that she didn't want me to know. And all I could keep thinking was 'She's cheating on me with the accountant.' And now…"

"She's not cheating on you Dean. She has never cheated on you."

"I'm scared of losing her. I'm scared I've already lost her and she just hasn't realized it."

"You have nothing to worry about Dean." Lorelai said with less conviction than she meant to and Dean picked up on it but decided it was a battle to be solved later.

Ten minutes later Lorelai was stopped in front of Dean's house. "Thank you for the ride Lorelai." He said reaching in his pocket for his keys when he felt Rory's cell phone. He mentally debated giving it to Lorelai or keeping it and chose to keep it. "Bye."

"Bye." Lorelai said and then drove off.

Tristin had just asked her how they were supposed to get home and realized that she had no clue. "Honestly Bible Boy. I haven't the faintest idea."

Tristin held in a laugh but cocked his head towards Rory and smirked at her. "Aw… how cute Mare, you have a nickname for me too."

"Don't be so smug. It's what my mom calls you. That and Spawn of Satan."

"Wow she was really right when she called that one." He said causing Rory to instantly regret saying that.

"I'm sorry… I wasn't thinking."

"It's ok Mary. Really it is. Now we should focus on our problem. How are we getting home?"

Tristin and Rory sat there in silence racking their brains. Tristin refusing to call his dad and Rory refusing to call her mom since she had lied to her. Rory was about to say she gave up when the doors to the auditorium opened and Paris walked in.

"I have been instructed to bring both of you back to Stars Hollow." Paris said walking over to the stage to look for her Spanish book.

"Both of us?" Tristin asked

"Yes, both of you. You and Rory. Lorelai wants me to bring both of you home now." came the mumbled voice of Paris Gellar from backstage

Tristin turned to Rory. "Why does your mom want me to come home with you?"

"She heard the argument. The whole thing. I think you remind her of herself when she was growing up. Why? Do you want to go home instead?" Rory asked unsure of what she wanted him to say

"Hell no. I'd rather go home with flying monkeys or oompa loompas than my parents tonight."

"Oompa Loompas?"

"The orange faces kind of freak me out."

"Are you two ready to go?" Paris asked

"Yeah." They both said in unison

Tristin hopped off the stage and grabbed Rory by the waist and pulled her down, then grabbed her hand and started pulling her back out into the cold night air. Neither one noticed that they were still holding each others hands, a factor that was not missed at all by Paris.

Dean sat down and debated whether or not he wanted to go through Rory's phone. He already knew that she had all of Tristin's numbers programmed into it. He decided against going through it and put it back in his pocket grabbed his jacket and headed over to the Lorelai's to give it back to her when she got home. And make the accountant remember that Rory was his.

AN: And this one is done now.. expect another update on this story soon and for those of you reading my Best Laid Plans story expect one of those updates before the end of the week. Now go do what I love and Review Review Review…

AN2: I want to thank everyone who is reviewing my stories... your feedback keeps me going...


	7. Now I Need An Excuse?

Summary: What if Tristin never left Chilton?

Disclaimer: I do not own the Gilmore Girl universe. I do however bow down to Amy Sherman- Palladino for creating such a masterful show.

Chapter Seven: Now I Need An Excuse?

Dean was sitting on the front porch in the dark when Paris' car pulled into the Gilmore driveway. He knew that Rory could see him form where he stood and that didn't bother him at all. If Rory was hiding something from him he'd know. He watched sadly as Paris and Tristin got out of the car and the frown on his face deepened when not even a second after Tristin got out of the back passenger side he opened up Rory's door for her. She smiled at him and he shut the door behind her causing even Paris to raise her eyebrows. He watched Paris and Tristin joke around on the way up the front yard. He noticed that Rory's face was sullen and she appeared withdrawn. Even though this should have made Dean sad, the fact that she was this way around Tristin made him somewhat happy. A smile crept to his face but quickly fell off when Tristin turned around and smiled at Rory and her eyes seemed to light up. So he forced a smile onto his face more for his own benefit than anyone else's and said, "Finally!"

"Dean? Hi! What are you doing here?" Rory asked caught completely off guard.

Dean didn't like the way she asked him that and he let her know it. "What? Now I need an excuse? You are _my_ girlfriend Rory. Or did you forget that? You get out of the car all sullen and introspective, and then _HE_ smiles at you and you're all happy again! What's going on Rory?"

Paris decided that she was going inside and that she should drag Tristin with her. "Yeah, OK Ror, I'm going inside to talk to Lorelai about gas money. Tristin are you coming with me?"

Tristin who had been paying no attention whatsoever to Paris had no idea that she was talking to him. His eyes hadn't left Dean since he saw him. He was about to say something to Dean about yelling at Rory when Paris nudged him with her elbow. "What!" he snapped at her.

"Nothing, I was just asking if you were coming in with me but I guess you're not."

"I'll be there in a minute."

"No, why don't you go now accountant. Me and _my girlfriend_ need to have a conversation without you." Dean said stressing my girlfriend trying to drill it into Tristin's head

Paris ran through the living room and screamed "Lorelai!"

"What! What is it? Is everything ok?"

"I'm about to sound like someone other than me, but do you want to see a fight? Cause if you don't you should get outside and stop one. Dean's here and he's yelling at Rory and Tristin."

"And you just let this happen Paris!"

"What in the hell was I supposed to do. Tristin won't listen to anyone but Rory and Dean looks mean. It's not my fault that the only one both of them will listen to is Rory." Paris said huffily.

"And she's not about to pick a side." Lorelai said

"No she's not. That much is obvious."

"I better get out there." Lorelai said walking out the front door

"I wonder how long it'll take Dean to notice she's wearing Tristin's jacket." Paris mumbled to no one but herself.

Tristin stared at Dean for a second and then looked back at Rory. She was looking at him with a lost helpless look on her face. Dean looked back at Rory and followed her gaze to Tristin. "Don't look at him! Look at me. I'm trying to talk to you." Dean said to Rory causing Rory and Tristin to break eye contact. "And you, why won't you just go away. You aren't wanted here. You're only here because Lorelai sat and listened to your father go off on you about some lame prank safe and she felt sorry for you. You are only here because Lorelai identifies with you. Rory has nothing to do with you being here tonight. Why don't you just go inside and talk to Lorelai? You can trade stories about how hard it is to grow up as a Hartford elitist, and leave my girlfriend alone." Dean knew he had stepped over a boundary when he started talking about Lorelai and he knew that Rory was going to let him have it when they were alone later.

Lorelai had come outside just in time to catch the tail end of Dean's makeshift monologue. She was about to go up and end it when she saw Tristin whip around and get so close to Dean's face that if he was any closer he'd have to kiss him. She decided that she'd let this argument play out as long as it didn't get physical.

Tristin was in Dean's face and the second he get there he knew that this might be a problem with Rory later. The last time he had got in Dean's face, Rory didn't react well. He backed off and started to walk towards the front door. "Why am I not surprised? Tristin Dugrey backs away from a fight. Big shocker there." Dean spat out.

Tristin whipped around and looked at Rory. She looked completley shell shocked. He then realized that she hadn't said a word since Dean saw them. He turned back around and started walking towards the house.

"Dean! You need to back off now!" Rory said finally finding her voice and trying to end this battle.

"DON'T YOU DARE DEFEND HIM RORY! YOU ARE MY GIRLFRIEND NOT HIS." Dean yelled at her

Tristin stopped walking the minute Rory's voice reached his ears. He wanted to know what she was going to say and then she defended him. Tristin's heart stopped. Tristin saw Lorelai out of the corner of his eye and smiled at her. Lorelai waved at him. "I'm really sorry…" he mouthed to her and watched as she mouthed back "why?". Lorelai didn't have to wait long to know why.. in two seconds Tristin was right back in Dean's face. "DON'T YOU EVER YELL AT HER AGAIN!" he yelled at him. He looked back at Lorelai who looked beyond angry with Dean and then at Rory who was just fighting not to cry. "Look Dean. I don't know what your problem is. I'm not trying to steal Rory from you. I am very much aware that she is your girlfriend. I mean you've told me like twenty times today. How many times have you had to tell her? I'm sure she knows it by now too. I mean she did at one point agree to be called your girlfriend right? So back the hell off. I'm here because Lorelai invited me and Rory told me she didn't mind. If Rory would have said no then I would have ignored Lorelai and stayed at home tonight." Tristin said then lowered his voice and walked over to Rory. He gazed down in her eyes for a second or two longer than necessary and then said, "Now, I'm going to bed. Night Rory."

"Night Tristin." Rory said barely above a whisper

Tristin started walking back towards the house and stopped the second his hand hit the knob. "Good night Lorelai."

"Good night Tristin." Lorelai said smiling. She was very much aware of why he spoke to her. He wanted Dean to know that Lorelai had heard everything. "Ror, I'm going in now, come in in a few minutes it's getting cold out here."

"Ok." Rory said automatically tightening Tristin's jacket around her body, cringing at her words. Lorelai talking about the temperature caused Dean to look closer at Rory. He then noticed the jacket.

"You're wearing his jacket! What in the hell is going on Rory?"

"Dean. We have to talk…" Rory started

Tristin walked in and sat on the couch next to Paris. "Have fun?" Paris asked him. Tristin just reached into his pocket and took his wallet out. He reached in and handed Paris a twenty. "What's this for?"

"Gas money." Tristin said and then walked into the kitchen to start another pot of coffee. He had a feeling they were going to need it.

AN: Ok, this is done. This is by far not the best it could have been. I had this chapter already written and it was amazing. Which says a lot because I'm not very confident with my writing and I thought it was fantastic, but sadly it got lost on my computer somewhere and it's gone. :Tears: Read and Review…


	8. This Has To Stop Now!

Summary: What would have happened if Tristin had never left for military school?

Disclaimer: Much to my extreme dismay, I do not own Gilmore Girls…

Chapter Eight: This Has To Stop… Now!

'_We need to talk'. _Those five words forced Dean's heart to stop beating. And to add insult to injury was that cocky little smile that the accountant was sporting. "Rory, look I'm sorry I yelled at you. I just lost my temper that's all. It will never happen again. I swear."

Rory looked at Dean for a minute before she even thought about opening her mouth. He looked spooked, not sorry. She knew that Tristin had gotten to Dean. He always did. Getting under Dean's skin was Tristin's specialty. She looked back at the now closed door and sighed. Then she looked back at Dean, who was waiting patiently for her to say it was alright and all was forgiven, but she just couldn't do that. "You've been yelling at me a lot lately Dean…" Rory started but was quickly interrupted by Dean.

"And I'm sorry, I swear it will never happen again."

"I suggest you shut up and let me finish. Now, I get it. Tristin gets under your skin. He's really good at it and he likes to do it. I know this because he did it to me all year last year. Nevertheless he is my friend Dean and I'm seriously worried about him now."

"Because of the safe prank?"

"No, I've been worried before I knew anything about that. He's been getting suspended a lot lately and he's been hanging around these two guys, Duncan and Bowman, and been acting like a jerk ever since he heard me tell you that I hated him. So in a way I kinda feel like part of this is my fault."

"Rory none of this is your fault. You couldn't help how you felt last year."

"Dean I lied to you last year. I never hated Tristin, but I wanted you back and I knew that if I was friends with Tristin it would have never happened. Me and Tristin had been friends for a few weeks ever since the thing at Madeline's party." Rory rambled off quickly hoping that Dean wouldn't be upset about her lying but also unintentionally telling him that something happened at the party.

"What thing at Madeline's party?"

"Nothing."

"That was the party you went to the night after we broke up right?"

"Yeah."

"What happened at the party Rory?" Dean questioned trying to keep his voice down to keep his promise. He was not going to yell at her. He didn't care what she said. He wasn't going to yell.

"Nothing happened at the party Dean." Rory said trying her hardest to convince him

"Please don't lie to me Rory."

"Dean."

"Rory."

"You don't want to know this Dean."

"Yes, I do."

"We were broken up. You had just dumped me I was heartbroken."

"What happened Rory!" Dean said his voice raising involuntarily. He immediately felt bad and threw a quick sorry at her.

"Dean. You have to understand that that night I was completely devastated and I didn't want to admit it. Mom kept telling me that I needed to wallow but I told her that I didn't want to wallow. So instead of sitting at home and wallowing or sitting at home and listening to her tell me to wallow, I decided to go out to Madeline's party."

"And…" 

"And everyone was there and Lane met this guy Henry and abandoned me. And Tristin was there…"

"Tristin was there?"

"Yeah. With his girlfriend Summer. They had this huge public fight and then huge public break up and he was upset and walked out of the room. And then later I was bored and Lane wasn't ready to go so I slipped into a room that looked quiet and when I opened the door he was there."

"The accountant?"

"Could you please quit referring to him as 'the accountant'."

"Fine. What was Tristin doing?"

"He was sitting on a piano bench playing the piano. I felt really bad for him and I went down and sat next to him. The next thing I know is that he's apologizing for being a jerk to me the whole year. I could tell he actually meant it so I told him it was ok. We sat there for a while just talking and then we…"

"Then you what Rory?"

"We…"

"Spit it out Rory. You and Tristin did what."

Rory was about to tell him when the front door opened. It was Tristin. The words died in her throat when she saw him. Dean turned around to see what she was looking at and saw him. "What are you telling him Rory?"

Rory stood there completely speechless so Dean answered for her. "She was about to tell me what happened at Madeline's party and how you two started out hating each other and ended up best friends."

"But we aren't best friends." Tristin said smiling at Rory

"Funny accountant."

"Dean." Rory warned

"Sorry." He muttered to Rory.

"How far are we into the story Mary?"

Rory still didn't know what to say so once again Dean answered for her. "She was about to tell me what happened after you apologized for being a jackass to her all year."

Tristin smiled at the memory of his lips on hers before looking back at Rory. She looked terrified. He knew that if Dean knew the truth that he'd leave Rory and as appealing as the idea of Rory being boyfriendless was to him, the idea of a hurting Rory broke his heart. "You know if I wanted to talk to you bag boy, I'd address you. If you keep talking for Rory she'll never find her voice. But I'll finish the story for you." Tristin said before taking a really deep breath and looked over at Rory. Her eyes were glued to her feet. "See me and Rory were talking and there was this lull in the conversation and stupid me thought we were having a moment. So I leaned in and I kissed her."

"YOU KISSED HER? YOU KISSED MY GIRLFRIEND!" Dean yelled and looked at Rory. She looked like the proverbial deer caught in the headlights. She knew that Dean wasn't going to take this well, but also knew that he had to know.

"I hate to break it to you but she wasn't your girlfriend anymore. But yes I kissed her and she slapped me." Tristin lied looking straight at Rory

'_What in the world is he doing?' _Rory thought to herself and then she realized that he was trying to give her a way out of this mess without costing her Dean. _This has to be hard for him_. The look of anger and relief on Dean's face made Rory's stomach turn. She realized that even though Tristin was great for doing this for her that she couldn't lie to Dean.

"Is that true Rory? Did you slap him?" Dean asked her

"Why would I lie about that man?" Tristin asked

"No." Rory whispered quietly looking straight at Tristin. Tristin heard her loud and clear. He wondered if she was going to tell the truth or stick to the lie he created for her.

Dean didn't hear her he just saw her mouth move so he asked, "What?"

Rory took a deep breath and started again. "I said no."

"No what?" Dean asked

"Dean, this has to stop… now!"

"What has to stop Rory?" Dean said looking genuinely confused

"This jealousy you have with Tristin! It has to end. I didn't slap him. I kissed him back. But he's right you weren't my boyfriend that night. You were the guy that broke my heart. You told me that you loved me and then you broke up with me when I wasn't ready to say it back to you and my heart was shattered and Tristin was there and he helped me forget for just a few minutes that I was devastated." Rory stopped so that she could take another deep breath. She looked at the two guys closely. Dean's face was filled with anger and sadness. That didn't surprise her. What surprised her was the look of agony on Tristin's face. He looked so hurt. She decided that she had to say something to make him feel better and realized that what she wanted to say was only going to make Dean even madder but at the time that didn't seem important, all that mattered was making the look on Tristin's face disappear. "I wanted to kiss him Dean. He was sitting there looking at me like I was the only thing in the world, like I was his world. And he's right we did have a moment and at the time I wanted nothing more than to kiss him. Then I cried. I felt so bad afterwards. I felt like I had betrayed you somehow. I started crying and then I ran out of the room leaving him there completely confused." She paused and turned towards Tristin. "I should have stayed and tried to explain that to you but I was so scared. I'm so sorry."

"It's ok, Rory. You've already told me this." Tristin said and really meant it. It was ok. He knew that it wasn't him that had caused her to run. It was Dean.

"I'm sorry, do you think that maybe you could turn some of that attention this way since I'm the one who just found out that you and Tristin have been sucking face!" Dean said bitterly

"We haven't been. Haven't you listened to a word she's said. It was one time. We kissed one time. A kiss that couldn't have lasted more than a minute and a half and you're all bent out of shape about it." Tristin said trying to defend Rory

"Yeah I heard her. The girl who I'm in love with, the girl who's supposed to be in love with me has been lying to me for at least six months."

"You don't deserve her, you do know that right?" Tristin said anger rising in his voice. "She could have kept lying. I gave her the perfect out. You could hate me forever for kissing her and never be angry at her for kissing me back because you thought she slapped me. But she didn't want to lie to you anymore. She told you the truth and she didn't do anything wrong. You broke up with her bag boy. She was available, free, back on the market. And you want to make her feel guilty about it now. What kind of person are you and you say you love her. You don't deserve her."

"And you do?"

"No, I don't. I don't for one second think that I deserve someone like Rory. She's too good for me and far too good for you."

Rory just sat here watching the two go at it before she jumped in. "Dean! Stop it. You need to leave. I want to go to bed. I'm tired and I just want to go to bed."

Dean's mouth dropped open. He couldn't believe that she had just asked him to leave. "Sure Ror, I bet you're tired. I mean all that kissing onstage must have left you pretty exhausted."

"Damn it Dean! Stop! I can't stand this. You are way to jealous of something that happened forever ago and a stage kiss." _An amazing stage kiss that made my knees buckle, one that most likely would have knocked me off my feet had I not been laying down_ Rory added silently to herself. "I can't do this. I won't choose between the two of you. You're my boyfriend Dean and Tristin, you are one of my only friends at Chilton. I refuse to give that up. Dean you either need to get over it and adjust or end things with me."

"That's it? That's your ultimatum? Get over it or we break up?"

Rory looked helpless and unsure but confidence was dripping from her voice. "Yes. That's my ultimatum."

Dean stood still for a moment and then looked at Tristin. He half expected the boy to stand there with some stupid cocky smirk on his face that Dean would want to punch in, but all he was shock.

Tristin had not expected that. He expected Rory to tell Dean that if he wanted her to that she wouldn't see him anymore. Not tell Dean to choose between her having him in her life or ending their relationship. Tristin held a breath as he waited for Dean to answer her. Anything Dean said was really a win for him.

"Fine. Then I guess it's over." Dean said before turning around, placing Rory's phone on the porch rails and walking out of the Gilmore's yard.

Rory stood there completely dumbfounded. She hadn't been expecting that. She really thought that he would at least try to let her and Tristin be friends. She didn't even notice that she was walking towards Tristin until she felt herself slide towards the ground with Tristin's arms wrapped around her. She heard these loud sobs and finally realized that they were coming from her. "Oh my God." She managed to choke out

Tristin watched the girl in front of him breakdown. He held her and stroked her hair as she cried. Lorelai walked out of the door to check on them and saw Rory crying. She started to walk over to them when she saw Tristin shake his head and her and motioned for her to look on the porch and see what Dean had left. Lorelai picked up the cell phone and held it up for Tristin to see and then walked back into the house leaving the door cracked open. Tristin looked down and realized that Rory's sobbing had subsided. He was about to ask if she was ok but realized that she had fallen asleep. "I swear to you Mary it's all going to ok." He whispered in her ear and he lifted her up and carried her into the house.

AN: Ok this is it. The end of Dean is official. Rory and Dean have broken up. I know everyone was waiting for this. But I assure you this is not the last we will hear from Dean. He'll be back and he'll be pissed… Enjoy… Read and Review Please…


	9. All My Fault

Summary: What if Tristin had never left Chilton for military school?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that is affiliated with Gilmore Girls, my name is not Amy Sherman- Palladino…

Chapter Nine: All My Fault…

Rory woke up to the feeling of her body being elevated. She was about to say something to let whoever was carrying her know she was awake and could carry herself, but as she took a deep breath and inhaled the scent of Tristin's cologne, she decided against it. She opened her eyes and watched the room around her instantly spotting her mother. Lorelai looked at Rory's open eyes and smiled at her before looking back at Tristin and opening Rory's bedroom door. Rory rolled her eyes back over to Tristin and she inwardly smiled and shifted slightly. Tristin's arms tightened around Rory when he felt her movement so that he wouldn't drop her. Electricity shot through her body as his grip on her tightened and she realized that she felt more than comfortable in his arms like this, she felt safe.

Tristin felt her stir when he picked her up and part of him knew that she was awake. He could feel her eyes on him and smiled at Lorelai when she came into sight. Lorelai's gaze shifted downward to her sleeping daughter and a smiled grazed her face before she looked back at him and opened her door for him. He felt her shift again and automatically his grip on her tightened. He smiled as he felt the electricity he always felt when he was touching her shoot through his body. As she shifted again she cuddled into his chest and he hated to have to put her down.

Rory shifted and cuddled into him the second they walked through her door. She knew that he would put her down and walk out of the room leaving her alone, so she wanted to savor the feeling of safety she was experiencing. She noticed that when her face cuddled into his chest that his body tensed slightly but pushed any thoughts out of her mind as she felt herself being lowered. She opened her eyes again and saw Tristin pulling her covers down. She closed her eyes again as he looked down at her and then lowered her onto the bed. He pulled her covers up over her and then sat down next to her on the bed. He saw her body relax and she felt her eyes getting heavy again, and before either one of them noticed it she was asleep again. He reached out and brushed a stray hair that had fallen from her ponytail while they were all outside arguing from her face and pushed it back behind her ear. He leaned down and kissed her forehead and whispered a faint 'sweet dreams' before getting off her bed and turning around to walk out the room. His eyes lifted upwards so that he didn't knock anything over and were immediately met by another pair of eyes.

"You really are in love with her aren't you?"

"Not here not right now Paris."

"What?"

"We're not having this conversation here or right now." Tristin said clarifying himself. He pushed Paris out of Rory's room and then caught Lorelai's gaze.

Lorelai again smiled at the boy, mainly because she had no idea what else to do. "Do you need to call your house?"

Tristin's eyes darted around the room looking for a clock. When he spotted one it read _11:00_. _No wonder Rory conked out so fast. The poor girl was probably exhausted,_ he thought to himself before speaking to Lorelai. "I probably should but it's too late now. No one will be awake, and the ones that are won't be home until at least one."

"Ok," Lorelai said before looking back over at Paris, "Paris, you're welcomed to stay the night here, I'd hate for you to have drive back to Hartford tonight."

"That's fine Lorelai, I can drive back. You already have one house guest," she said pointing at Tristin, "I'd hate to put you out."

"Nonsense. It's no problem whatsoever. You and Tristin can decide who gets the couch or the guest room, its up to y'all. Just let me show you where everything is." Lorelai said before leading the two teens into the hallway. She opened a closet and pulled out a spare pillow and comforter. "This is our linen closet and as you can see we have plenty of pillows and blankets if you get cold." When Tristin and Paris both nodded she led them upstairs. She pointed to her room, "This is my room. For your own safety you don't want to go in there. It's always a mess and if I'm asleep and you wake me before eleven tomorrow I won't be held responsible for what I do to you." She then led them down the hall and opened a door. "This is our spare room. It isn't much, cause let's face it we never have guests."

"You can have this room. I'll take the couch." Tristin said to Paris

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. The women in the house deserve the beds. I can sleep anywhere and the Gilmore family couch seems as good as anywhere." Tristin said

"Always the gentleman." Lorelai said causing both her and Paris to laugh. "Come on let's finish the tour."

"I actually know where everything is. I received the tour earlier remember. So I'm just going to go to bed." Paris said to Lorelai.

"Oh yeah, that's right. Well then goodnight Paris." Lorelai said before walking towards the stairs. "If you need something wake Tristin up! He'll know where everything is in just a minute." Lorelai said laughing

"I will. Goodnight." Paris said to Lorelai. "We will finish our previous discussion Dugrey. Don't think I'll forget about it."

"I never expected you to. Goodnight Paris."

"Night." Paris said before shutting the door.

Lorelai gave Tristin the rest of the tour making sure to accentuate the coffee pot's location. She then took the pillow and blanket she had removed earlier and handed them to Tristin before mumbling a somewhat hurried goodnight before walking up the stairs and going to bed. Tristin made up the couch and laid down in hopes that sleep would come soon.

Sleep for Lorelai didn't come as soon as she had expected. She was worried about Rory. She knew that the break up with Dean had been unexpected for her, even if everyone else saw it coming. Lorelai had actually assumed it would have ended sooner when Dean started his possessive behavior around Jess, but Rory surprised them all with her inability to see it as possessiveness and not just jealousy. She had thought that Jess would have been the boy to come between Dean and Rory, not Tristin. Tristin had never crossed her mind. She never thought she'd see the day that Tristin would be staying the night and picking up a broken Rory. Lorelai was worried about Tristin too though and she couldn't help but feel like he was her at seventeen. Smothered, controlled, and shown affection by the price tag of his new car or new wardrobe. He was practically begging for attention, but that was something Lorelai had known before she even met the boy. It was obvious that he wanted his parent's attention and just didn't know any other way to go about it. It was even a little more obvious that he wanted Rory's attention. Why else would he have behaved the way he did last year? He wanted her to notice him, and then when she did, it backfired. She thought he was awful and he couldn't figure out how to fix it. _Oh well, maybe he'll fix it now,_ Lorelai thought to herself before sleep finally overcame her.

Rory rolled over in her bed to look at the clock. 2:30. She sat up and realized that she was still in her jeans and tee-shirt and that her throat was beyond dry. She climbed out of bed and walked into the kitchen to fix herself a glass of water. She slowly drank it and then went back into her room. She changed into a pair of pajamas, nothing too cutesy but nothing revealing either. If Tristin and Paris ever saw her in cutesy or skimpy pajamas she'd never hear the end of it. She climbed back into bed and laid down in hopes of sleep.

Tristin was still wide awake when he heard Rory's door open. He had thought about going into the kitchen but then decided it might be a little uncomfortable. _She might blame me for the whole breakup with Dean_ he thought to himself, so he just decided to lie back down and go to sleep. His eyes were getting heavy and he finally quit fighting the sleep that was overtaking him when he heard Rory's door close again. Five minutes later he was sound asleep.

Rory was tossing and turning. She couldn't go back to sleep. She rolled over and looked at the clock again. 3:30. She had been tossing and turning for an hour. Giving up on the idea of sleep she climbed out of bed and walked over to her desk. _If I can't sleep then I'll do some homework_, she thought to herself. She went to pull out her chair and her hands rested on Tristin's jacket. She had taken it off an hour ago when she woke up with it on still. Suddenly the night's events came back to her. She opened her bedroom door and went into the living room. Tristin was sound asleep on her couch, although he looked a little cold. She noticed that he had only the thin blanket and went to the linen closet and got a thicker blanket. She pulled it over him, mumbled sweet dreams and went upstairs. She opened her mom's door quietly, knowing that Lorelai was asleep and climbed into Lorelai's bed.

Lorelai woke up when she felt the bed shift. "Rory?" Lorelai whispered

"Who else would be crawling into your bed at three thirty in the morning?" Rory whispered back in a sarcastic tone

"Maybe I was dreaming and it was Brad Pitt. I don't know." Lorelai joked. "Sweetie not that I mind you sleeping in here but can I ask why?"

"He broke up with me. Dean broke up with me." Rory said quietly

"I know. I think the whole town heard you three screaming at each other." Lorelai said sadly. She knew that breakfast at Luke's in a few hours would be interesting.

"We weren't all screaming at each other." Rory said defending herself

"You're right. Tristin never once screamed at you, and you never screamed at him. So I guess I should say they whole town probably heard you and Dean and Dean and Tristin screaming at each other. More Dean and Tristin than you sweetie."

"I know."

"You gave him a choice Rory. He made his choice."

"His choice was to leave me Mom."

"No, his choice was to refuse to accept Tristin being in your life, which I assume he is and still will be in the morning. Especially considering the way he defended you and then carried you in here tonight. It was all very romantic and sweet." Lorelai said smiling

"Yes, Tristin is in my life and will still be but not because of whatever dirty little reason you're thinking about. I'm going to miss Dean though."

Lorelai sighed. "Rory sweetie answer me a question and be nothing but truthful, ok?"

"Ok." Rory said warily

"Can you honestly say that you were still in love with Dean? Because if you are, maybe you shouldn't have given him an ultimatum like that."

Rory thought for a few minutes before sighing and answering her with, "I don't know. I mean I thought I was. But maybe I never was. I mean back in the beginning I'd have these furious little butterflies fluttering away in my stomach whenever I got near him, or thought of him, or even when I passed the market on days I knew he'd be in there. Then he told me he loved me and I couldn't say it back. I just couldn't, and I know you think that I couldn't say it back because I was afraid of commitment and that I had gotten that from you, but I don't think that was what it was. I knew that I couldn't say it back because I'd have been lying to him. I didn't know what love felt like, I had never been in love. How did I know that's what it was? And then it was just over, and I was sad and lonely. I went to that stupid party and kissed Tristin, and I know when I got home I told you that it was no big deal, but it was. The kiss alone was fantastic, I mean I was speechless Mom and you know as well as I do that that doesn't happen very often. And I just kept thinking, this is wrong. I shouldn't be kissing someone else Dean and I just broke up and here I am kissing someone else. And then the thought occurred to me. Maybe I didn't love Dean at all. Not because I like Tristin but because if I was really and truly in love with Dean then I wouldn't have been able to just sit there and let Tristin kiss me."

"Rory sweetie take a breath…" Lorelai said trying to end the ramble Rory was on but she was interrupted by Rory.

"So then I tried to resolved the thing with Tristin. Let him know that I was just in a really weird place right now and that he had done nothing wrong, and he accepted that no questions asked. And then for weeks I was miserable. I still don't know why. I think I knew that I didn't love Dean. But if that wasn't what was bothering me then what was. Then when Dean showed up at Chilton and I was fighting with Tristin yet again, I was so miserable and I just wanted to feel better, and… oh God…"

"What? Oh God what?"

"I realized that I hadn't felt that way when I was with Dean and I think I just told him what he wanted to hear. I told him that I hated Tristin and that I loved him."

"Sweetie not to break this ramble up or anything, but you do realize that I already knew all of these details right?"

Rory wasn't paying her any attention though. "I bet Tristin heard me say that I hated him to Dean, and now he's acting out. All week I'd been trying to talk to him and he just kept asking me why I was trying to pretend like I cared about him and like I didn't hate him and I never put two and two together. This is all my fault. And to make matters worse he just got into a screaming fight with Dean a little over an hour after he gets into one with his father."

Lorelai grabbed Rory, who was starting to shake and held her still. "Rory! None of this is your fault. I'm sure Tristin doesn't blame you and he was defending you Ror. For that the boy should get a medal. Dean was out of control tonight and he defended you. Dean is just jealous. Even he knew that you didn't love him like he thought you used to. He's just angry that he lost you, and Tristin was the male around when it happened. If it had been Jess it still would have turned out the same way. He would have yelled at you and you two still would have broken up. And for that I'm sure Tristin doesn't hold you responsible. You may be the reason he and Dean were fighting but he doesn't blame you at all. And as for the acting out part, maybe you're half right, but even if it is I doubt he even realized that it was triggered by you. None of this is your fault Rory."

"But…"

"No buts." Lorelai said, "Now lie down and go to sleep and we'll get up in a little while and go to breakfast at Luke's. We'll get you some chocolate chip pancakes and then I'll pick a fight with Luke to make you laugh. How does that sound?"

"Like a regular old Saturday."

"Great. Now goodnight."

"Night." Rory said before cuddling into her mom's bed and drifting back to sleep. Before she fell completely asleep Lorelai heard "Mom?"

"Yeah sweets?"

"Thank you."

"Your welcome."

AN: That's it for chapter nine… 8 pages of my brain… this chapter was like 15 pages long but then I decided to cut it short and stop here… enjoy… read and review…

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	10. Meet Me At Luke's

Summary: What if Tristin never left Chilton for military school in North Carolina?

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls… that honor goes to Mrs. Amy Sherman- Paladino… lucky her

Chapter Ten: Meet Me At Luke's 

Rory awoke in her mother's bed alone. She got up to find Paris still in the guest room, but instead of sleeping Paris was wide awake doing her homework. Paris' door was wide open with a note taped to the door. She read it: _Paris, we're all meeting at Luke's for lunch at noon. See you there Lorelai._ Rory laughed at her mom causing Paris to look up at her. "God Gilmore ever consider wearing a bell!" Paris yelled startled by Rory.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Did you see this note?"

"Yeah, I was awake when Lorelai put it there. As she was taping it to the door I said 'What are you doing?' and she said 'Leaving you a note.' And I said 'But I'm awake. You could just tell me what it says.' And she says 'Now where's the fun in that.' And just finished taping it and then walked out."

"That sounds like Lorelai." Rory said. "Come downstairs with me. I want some coffee." Rory said walking over and sitting on the bed with Paris

"What does that have to do with me?"

"I want your company too." Rory guessed.

"Wake up Tristin. He'll play with you. I'm busy." Paris said turning her attention back to her homework.

Rory rolled her eyes. "Fine Paris." Rory said looking at the clock 10:45. "Come downstairs when you're ready to go to Luke's." Rory said getting off the bed. She had just gotten to the door when she heard Paris.

"Hey Rory?"

"Yeah?"

"I heard all that last night. You know the whole Dean thing. I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry. I know you really cared about him."

"I did. But I think it was for the best. We were growing apart and he was getting far too jealous and possessive. He didn't trust me anymore, which is ridiculous because I never gave him a reason not to. Oh well."

"I also heard you and Lorelai last night."

"Oh."

"I woke up and I couldn't go back to sleep and since the bed in here is right against the wall of Lorelai's room I could here you."

"Paris please make a point." Rory pleaded, embarrassed that Paris had heard her break down last night.

"None of it was your fault. Tristin or Dean. It wasn't your fault that Tristin got in trouble this year and it wasn't your fault that you didn't love Dean either. I know that I don't have a lot of experience in the whole love department considering the only guy I ever cared about was Tristin and he basically ignored me for years, but if there's one thing I know it's this. You can't help who you don't love, and you definitely can't help who you do."

"I guess so." Rory said walking out of the room. The second Rory reached the staircase she saw pieces of paper taped to the banister every few steps. She picked up the first one and read it: _Coffee is the elixir of life_. Rory smiled and walked down to the next one. _Meet me at Luke's today for lunch and I'll buy you some._ She walked to the next one. _Get Paris and then go look at Tristin it's funny._ Rory walked back up the stairs and back into the guest room. "Hey Paris come with me."

"Why?"

"I don't know, Lorelai's orders." Rory said handing her the papers

Paris read them and then looked up at Rory. "Your mother is insane."

"Come on you gotta admit you're curious."

"Yeah I am. Let's go Gilmore." Paris said

The two girls walked back down the stairs and into the living room. Upon entering the living room they saw Tristin lying on the couch still asleep. Paris walked over to him and motioned for Rory to stay quiet and come there. Rory walked over to Tristin and over his face was a piece of paper taped to his forehead. "Poor Tristin." Rory whispered to Paris. Rory reached down and carefully removed the paper from his face trying not to hurt him. She grabbed the paper and her and Paris walked into the kitchen with it.

"What's it say?" Paris asked Rory

"It says, _Here lies Tristin Dugrey._" Rory said

"What was the point in that?"

"I don't know. You said it before my mom is insane."

"There's writing on the back." Paris said

"Oh, it says _Tristin meet us at Luke's at noon._"

"Well then that's great. Your mom made me come down from here for that." Paris said turning around to go back upstairs.

Rory looked over at the coffee pot. There laid three envelopes. One said Gilmore, one said Dugrey and the other said Geller. "Paris." Rory called out

"Yeah." Paris yelled from the foot of the stairs

"Hush you'll wake him up." Rory told her, "There's an envelope here for you."

"Oh." Paris said walking back into the kitchen. She took the envelope form Rory and opened it. She reached in and pulled out twenty dollars and a slip of paper that said _GAS MONEY_ _Thank you for bringing her home._ Paris smiled at looked at Rory.

"What was in it?" Rory asked

"Gas money. What was in yours?"

"Just a note that said my cell phone was on my dresser."

"There's one there for Tristin." Paris said matter-of-factly.

"Yes there is."

"You know you want to know what it says don't you?" Paris said

"Oh of course I do, but I'm not going to open it." Rory said. Paris was about to say something when they both heard a loud thud come from the living room. "What the hell was that?" Rory asked Paris

"OWW…" came a voice from the living room

Rory and Paris walked in the living room to see what happened and found Tristin lying on the floor. "What happened?" Paris asked

"Obviously I fell off the couch Paris." Tristin said in his smart ass voice

Rory smiled at him and moved around the table to help him up. Tristin smiled at her and pushed himself up holding her hand the entire time. He rubbed his forehead where the tape had been attached and looked at Rory and Paris who were laughing at him. "What are you two laughing at?" he asked

Rory let go of his hand and went into the kitchen and came back out with the note. "Lorelai taped this to your forehead." She told him handing him the note.

"_Here lies Tristin Dugrey_? Was she scared I'd forget my name?"

Rory reached over and flipped the paper over. "Here."

"_Meet us at Luke's at noon_. Ok now that makes more sense." Tristin said. He looked at Rory and said, "Is there coffee?"

Rory looked at him. In reality she had been looking at him since he woke up. "Yeah in the kitchen."

"Well come on then let's get some of this elixir of life as you call it." He said placing his hand on the small of her back and leading her back into the kitchen. "Paris are you coming?"

Paris looked at the two and decided to give them some space. "No, I'm going to finish my homework."

"Noon Paris. At noon you're taking a break and we're going to lunch." Tristin called out already in the kitchen with Rory.

"Yeah." Paris said before she went back upstairs. _Idiots_ she thought to herself.

Tristin walked over to the cabinets and started opening them one by one looking for the coffee cups. He found two and put them both on the counter. He filled one for Rory and one for himself. When he was sitting the coffee pot back on the warmer he noticed the envelope for him.

"What's this?" he asked Rory setting a cup of coffee in front of her

"I have no clue. All I know is it's from my mom. She left us each one, mine had directions to locate my cell phone, and Paris' had twenty dollars for gas money." Tristin nodded and Rory stood up and said, "I'm going to go take a shower. If you want to take one there's another one upstairs."

"Ok, what time do you want to leave for Luke's?" Tristin asked her

"Quarter to twelve I guess. See you later." Rory told him before walking into her room and shutting the door behind her.

Tristin got up and took his note and coffee into the living room and sat back down on the couch. He opened his envelope and pulled out a letter.

_Tristin:_

_You have no idea just how much respect you earned last night, from me and from Rory. You remind me so much of myself when I was your age. I always felt stifled under my parents house. Should you still be around after this "safe incident" you are welcome to stay at our house anytime, after all we do have the spare bedroom and all. I watched you take care of my daughter last night, I watched you defend her and even try to help her get out of the mess with the whole kiss at Madeline's party. You were so awful to Rory in the beginning. You made up for all of that yesterday. I never thought I'd see the day that you were here and Rory wouldn't be complaining about it. There's just one thing I need you to do for me. Let her know that it isn't her fault that you've been acting out all year. She's blaming herself for the whole thing and I don't like seeing my daughter upset, and I know that you don't either._

_Lorelai_

Tristin put the letter back in the envelope and then put them both in his back pocket. He heard the shower downstairs turn on and then walked upstairs and knocked on Paris' door.

"Come in." Paris said

Tristin opened the door and looked at Paris. "Ok, I'm ready to have that conversation I was avoiding last night."

AN: Ok, that's the end of this chapter and I know it was a little cheesy. The next one will have the Paris and Tristin conversation, some Luke and Lorelai and Tristin interaction, and a few sweet gestures from Tristin. Enjoy!


	11. Talk of the Town

Summary: What if Tristin never left Chilton?

Disclaimer: I am not lucky enough to be the owner of Gilmore Girls, or Chad Michael Murray :tears:

Chapter Eleven: Talk of the Town… 

Paris just looked up and shut her chemistry book. She hadn't actually expected him to want to talk about Rory with her after he brushed her off last night. "What changed from last night?" she asked him curious.

"I think that Lorelai just welcomed me into the family, and offered me this room whenever I didn't want to go home." Tristin said closing the bedroom door behind him

Paris looked at him and showed no emotion whatsoever. "Well that was nice of her. She must really appreciate you standing up for Rory last night."

"She does."

"So, if I ask you the same question I asked you last night, would you answer me this time?"

Tristin took a deep breath before sitting down on the bed next to her. "Yeah, I love her. I've always loved her. Even you have to know that Paris."

"I do. I have. I saw it the first time she turned you down. I just wanted to hear you say it."

"Oh."

"Do something about it Tristin."

"I did remember. She's turned me down every single time I've asked her out."

"Well quit asking her out then and move on."

Tristin thought about this for a minute. "I can't."

"Why?" Paris asked suddenly very interested in this

"I don't want to move on. I want to be with her."

Paris smiled at him. _That's what I thought,_ she thought to herself. "Then be her friend first. Spending time with Rory will inadvertently change you. It might even make you less cocky. That's one thing Rory can't stand about you. You're too cocky Dugrey. And even you know that."

"I know."

"She blames herself for the way you're acting Tristin. She thinks it's all her fault that you're acting out the way you are."

"See Lorelai said the same thing to me, that I needed to make sure Rory knew that it wasn't her, but I think in a lot of ways it was her. She triggered it. If nothing else I really wanted to be her friend. I bought those PJ Harvey tickets for her. I went through hell to get those tickets, they cost me a fortune. When she turned me down when it was a date, I told myself, that's fine. It doesn't have to be a date, we can just go as friends. And then that Friday came and I still couldn't get her to go with me and then Dean showed up. She said she hated me Paris. She had never said that before. All the arguments we had she had never once said the words 'I hate you' to me, and it hurt. I left and over the summer I just started feeling crappier and crappier. Then when I got back after fourth of July I became friends with Duncan and Bowman. I got in a fight in the hallway with Rory last Monday and then in Stars Hollow the day before yesterday in the market. She left with Dean and it hurt and I just wanted to stop hurting, so when Duncan suggested doing something stupid I was all for it because it would take my mind off of Rory just for a little while."

Paris just sat there listening to him when he stopped talking she looked at him and said, "Well then tell her that. But make sure she knows that you don't blame her.She canbethe triggerall you want but you don't have to blame her. Does that make any sense to you?"

"No." Tristin said laughing slighty

"You know for someone so smart you can be so dumb. Technically none of this is her fault. She thought you were just playing with her, that she was nothing to you but a conquest. She didn't trust you. And you heard her last night. She told Dean she lied to him. That she never meant it when she said she hated you."

"What makes you think I heard her say that?"

"Because I did, and I was farther away from the door than you were. That's how I know you heard her say it. Also you were just standing by the door waiting for any indication that Rory might need you. Lorelai even joked that you looked ready to pounce should Dean start getting the wrong kind of angry with Rory. She kept telling me that she was going to let you three fight it out as long as it didn't get violent."

"Ok so I heard her say it, but I didn't know it back then."

"Just like she didn't know that you actually cared about her last year."

"So you're saying that I shouldn't blame Rory at all right…"

"Exactly she may have unintentionally caused all of this but you can't blame her for it and you need to let her know that you don't."

"And how do I do that?"

"Just tell her. I don't know how you can throw that into a conversation but just tell her."

Tristin just nodded and said thanks. He looked over at the clock and saw that it said 11:30. "Rory wants to leave in fifteen minutes."

"Ok, I'll be down in a minute."

Tristin nodded again and walked out the door shutting it behind him. He walked down the stair and picked up his coffee cup from the table and took it to the kitchen. He poured the remains of the coffee out into the sink and then grabbed Rory's empty cup from the table. He washed them both and put them both back in the cabinet. He walked back into the living room and folded all the blankets, noticing that there was one that he hadn't had when he went to sleep. He started folding it and said aloud to himself, "Where did this one come from?"

"You looked cold."

Tristin turned around to see Rory standing behind him.

"I woke up at three something and couldn't go back to sleep. I walked out into the living room to get my backpack and you were laying there looking cold so I went and got another blanket and covered you up and then went upstairs and woke my mom up."

Tristin just stood there folding the blanket. He looked up at her and smiled. "Thanks. So can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." Rory said looking slightly uncomfortable.

Tristin moved the folded blankets off the couch and motioned for her to sit down with him. When she did he turned towards her. "How are you doing this morning? You were pretty upset last night."

Rory looked down at her feet. "Surprisingly I think I'm fine. Last night was kind of a surreal experience. I think that it was time for me and Dean to end. Honestly I didn't expect it to last much longer. He was way too jealous."

"Why? He didn't even know I was back in your life until the other day."

"There's this other guy. His name is Jess." Rory replied causing Tristin's face to fall slightly. "He likes me, and he let's Dean know that he wants me."

"Do you like him?" Tristin asked hopeful that she would say no.

"Not like he wants me to. I want to be friends with him. He's Luke's nephew and Luke is extremely important to me. I want to at least be friends with Jess, but I'm not looking for anything more when it comes to me and Jess."

"Well then did Dean know that?"

"Of course Dean knew it. I told him everyday at least twice a day that I was with him, not Jess and I didn't want to be with Jess. But I don't think he believed me. Things have been off since we got back together. I don't think either of us really felt the same about each other but I think we both just missed each other's company. I mistook that for love."

"Are you saying that you never loved Dean." Tristin asked curiously

"I'm saying that I don't know if I did, because I've never experienced it before."

"I don't think that anyone ever knows if they're in love the first time they fall. I know that the only time I fell in love it took me completely by surprise, and I don't know how I knew I loved her but I did. I just knew it."

"See I don't think I ever had that kind of epiphany with Dean. He told me he loved me and I freaked, I couldn't say it back. I think I realized that he was way more serious about me at that point than I was ready for."

"Believe me Rory when you fall in love, and I mean really fall in love, you'll know. And you'll be able to say it again and again. It will be so easy for you to say that you won't be able to stop, and the best thing about it is you won't want to stop saying it."

Tristin and Rory just sat there looking at each other for a second. They were having a moment and they both knew it. Just then Paris barged in. "It's time to go."

"Yeah." Rory said

Tristin stood up and offered Rory his hand to pull her up. She held hers out and they clasped hands for just a few seconds, long enough for him to pull her up and then they let go. "Let's get some lunch."

Lorelai was sitting at a table in Luke's waiting for the three kids when Mrs. Patty walked over to her. "Lorelai I heard there was quite the argument in your front yard late last night. Everything's alright I hope."

Lorelai rolled her eyes and then put a smile on her face. "Everything's fine Patty."

"It's just I heard that Rory and two guys were arguing."

"Yeah but it's ok now Ms. Patty. It's all been taken care of."

Ms. Patty seemed very unsatisfied by this lack of information but decided to leave anyway. She told Lorelai bye and walked out looking for Taylor.

"It wasn't Jess was it?" a masculine voice came from behind Lorelai

"Hey Luke! Coffee?"

"Yeah one second though. Rory and two guys were arguing last night?"

"Yeah. It got pretty heated."

"And again I ask, was it Jess?"

"Huh?"

"Well I figure it was Rory and Dean and then the other guy so was the other guy Jess?"

"Surprisingly no, although Jess has been the focal point of many Dean and Rory fights lately. This was Tristin."

"Tristin? As in Chilton Tristin? As in Evil Tristin?"

"Yup that's him. But like I was about to tell you. Dean and Rory broke up. And she'll be here any minute now so I want her get her a burger and some fries and lots of coffee."

"That little jerk! He broke up with her again! That's it! He's dead! I'll kill him!" Luke said loudly and furiously

"Luke calm down. I think she wanted it to be this way. She gave him the ultimatum. She told him he'd have to adjust to her being friends with Tristin and he blew up at her again."

"He yelled at her again!" Luke yelled

Lorelai immediately wished she could take that back. "Anyway, Rory will be here at noon, with Paris and Tristin."

"I'll go put in her order. Do you know what the other two are going to want?" Luke said trying to calm down

"What no 'What are Paris and Tristin still doing in Stars Hollow. Or doesn't Rory hate both of them?' I'm shocked!" Lorelai said

"No, I'm still stuck on the idea that Rory has made friends with the two people she complained about the most."

"Oh well in that case. I have no clue what Paris and Tristin want. Come back in five minutes they should be here by then."

"Ok."

Lorelai smiled as Luke walked away. He was so amazing when it came to Rory. You'd think she was his daughter. Lorelai smiled and looked out the window. The smile faded from her face when she saw Tristin carrying Rory. Rory had a look of agony on her face. Lorelai got up and bolted out the door. "What in the hell happened to her!" Lorelai yelled when they got in front of Luke's.

Tristin looked at Lorelai and said, "I didn't do it! Why are you looking at me like that?" trying to defend himself

"It's fine mom I think I just sprained my ankle and Tristin refused to let me limp."

"Well she looked funny and at the speed we were going it would have taken us an hour to walk here." Tristin said trying to make light of the situation

"Yes, yes. It was all very chivalrous of you to whisk her up into your arms and carry her the whole thirty feet to Luke's. Can we just go in now I'm hungry?"

"Are you sure you're ok Ror? You want to go home. Cause we can go home if you want. Tristin can carry you back and everything."

"No Mom, I'm fine I just want to go in and eat. Plus I think I see Ms. Patty coming and if she sees me like this, being carried and everything, I'm going to be the talk of the town."

Lorelai just laughed and ushered them in the door. "Sweetie you and Tristin already are."

AN: Ok so I know I promised that there would be some Luke/Tristin interaction but this chapter was running really long and I decided to save it for the next chapter… sorry… read and review please…


	12. Welcome Home

Summary: What if Tristin never left Chilton?

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls or anything affiliated with Gilmore Girls

Chapter Twelve: Welcome Home 

Tristin walked into Luke's with Rory still in his arms. Luke looked up from the counter when the bell over the diner rang. The second he saw Rory he was standing in front of them pulling out a chair. He grabbed her out of Tristin's arms and snapped, "What in the hell did you do to her!"

Tristin looked over at Lorelai who was walking in with Paris behind her and mouthed _help_. Lorelai looked over at Luke who was setting Rory down and taking another chair and putting her feet up. "For heaven's sake Luke! He didn't do it. She did it to herself. Quit badgering the poor boy and get him a chair." She said winking at Tristin

"Why do I have to get him a chair?" Luke asked

"Cause you took his silly diner man." Lorelai stated as if it should have been obvious

"I gave it to Rory."

"And now he doesn't have one."

Tristin looked at Rory who was smiling at her mom and Luke. He walked over to where Rory was sitting and she lifted up her feet. He sat down and then carefully placed her twisted ankle back in his lap. Paris watched as his hand protectively rested on Rory's ankle and rolled her eyes.

"HE DOESN'T NEED A CHAIR NOW LORELAI!" Paris yelled over Luke and Lorelai's bantering.

Lorelai looked back at the teens and saw Tristin holding Rory's foot and smiled. "Oh ok then. Luke burgers!" Lorelai demanded

"And coffee!" Rory chimed in

"See she's feeling better already Luke."

"Are you sure you're ok Rory?" Luke asked her gently

"I'm fine Luke it's just sprained." Rory told him

Luke nodded. Then he looked over at Paris and Tristin. "You two want anything?"

Paris nodded, "The same as them."

"What about you Tristin?" Luke asked

"I'll have the same and maybe an Ace bandage for Mary." Tristin said. His fingers began unconsciously rubbing the swollen part of her foot.

Luke just nodded and walked away not noticing Tristin rubbing Rory's ankle. Rory however did notice and the small movements were sending chills up and down her spine. Convincing herself it was just because she was ticklish she ignored it.

Luke walked back up to the counter and yelled back at Caesar, "Four hamburgers Lorelai style." Then walked over to where Jess was.

Jess had just come downstairs into the diner and saw Rory. He was about to go over and say hi when he noticed a blond headed guy. Luke walked over to him and handed him a five dollar bill. "What's this?" Jess asked confused

"Go over to Doose's and buy an Ace bandage." Luke said starting to walk away

"For what?"

"Rory."

"What's wrong with Rory?" Jess asked concerned

"She sprained her ankle."

"Oh, who's the guy?" Jess askednodding at Tristin

"His name is Tristin. He goes to school with Rory."

"Oh." Jess said as he watched Luke walk back over to the table with a coffee pot. He sat his book on the counter and walked out the diner headed into Doose's to get the bandage. When he came back in he saw Rory and Tristin talking alone. Lorelai was up at the counter talking to Luke and the girl who was with them was no where to be seen. He walked over to Rory. "Hey Rory."

Rory smiled. "Hey Jess. Whatcha got there?"

Jess sat the Ace bandage on the table and said "Ace bandage."

"Thanks." Rory said smiling at him. She looked back and forth between Tristin and Jess a few times before saying, "OH! Jess this is Tristin. Tristin this is Jess."

"Nice to meet you." Tristin said sticking his hand out for Jess to shake, but keeping the other hand firmly placed to her ankle while his thumb rubbed back and forth across it.

Jess shook his hand, "You too." He let go and looked over at Rory. He noticed Tristin rubbing her ankle and decided he needed to get away from the table. "Ror, do you need some more coffee?"

"Yeah, thanks. Hey, bring one back for Mom too. She's been up there for the last ten minutes trying to get Luke to give her more."

"Ok." Jess said and walked away

Tristin looked back at Rory and smiled. "So that's a Jess huh?"

"Yeah. That's Jess."

"And Dean was intimidated by him?" Tristin asked. When Rory rolled her eyes he quickly knew he had to get out of the whole he dug himself in. "It's just he doesn't seem very talkative, which is something you like to do, you know talk."

Rory smiled watching him try to defend his statement. "It's ok Tristin. But anyways, he might not be talkative but he loves to read and he knows what I'm talking about. Dean never understood me when I was talking about authors or philosophers or things like that. I think that's what intimidated Dean. Jess is smarter than him."

Tristin nodded. He stopped rubbing her ankle and looked at her. "And that's important to you, someone who understands the great philosophers and novelists?"

"Not really." Rory said

Tristin nodded again. "How's your ankle?"

"It feels better, I think."

Tristin pulled up the bottom of her jeans so that he could see the ankle. "The swellings gone down a lot." He told her grabbing the Ace bandage and unrolling it.

"What are you doing?" she asked him

"Wrapping your ankle up, sit still." Tristin told her

He was half way through wrapping her ankle when Jess came back with the coffee. He sat it down and then walked away. The bell over the diner door rang and Lorelai, Luke, Rory, Tristin and Jess all looked over at the door. Dean walked into the diner and walked straight up to the counter. Rory looked back at Tristin and he felt her entire body tense.

"Relax Mary. It will be ok." Tristin told her while he finished wrapping her ankle.

Dean looked over at Jess who was watching Rory and Tristin and smirked. "I wouldn't bother if I were you."

"Huh?" Jess asked him

"Trying to get between those two. She won't choose you over him."

"What are you talking about? I thought she was _your_ girlfriend."

The smile on Dean's face faltered a little bit. "We broke up last night. She's into him."

Jess was about to say something when he heard Rory yell. "Mom!"

"Yeah sweets?" Lorelai said looking back from the counter.

"We're going to go. Tell Paris when she comes back that we're at the house."

"Ok sweets. Are you getting home in the manner that you got here in?" Lorelai asked winking at Tristin

"Very funny mom!" Rory yelled back

"What in the hell is that supposed to mean?" Dean asked Jess

"Well Rory sprained her ankle and when she entered Luke's Tristin was carrying her." Kirk answered for Jess since Jess didn't know what Lorelai was talking about

"Oh." Said Dean. He looked back over to the table Rory was at and saw Tristin lift her arm and put it around his shoulders and lift her from the chair. He wasn't carrying her this time but he was certainly helping her walk.

"See what I mean?" Dean asked Jess

"Yeah. I see that he's into her. I've seen nothing that shows me she's into him."

"Believe that if you want, but you're wrong." Dean said walking over to Luke to order food.

Luke watched to make sure Rory was out of earshot and looked over to Dean. "I won't serve you."

"Why not?" Dean asked

"You hurt her. Get out of my diner." Luke told him before turning around and walking to refill coffees.

Dean looked over at Lorelai who held up her finger as if to say one second. When Luke was on the other side of the diner, Lorelai snuck behind the counter and poured him a cup of coffee in a to-go cup. "I'd give you more but he'd notice. I'll distract him. Just go. He'll cool down later when Rory isn't quite so broken."

Dean just nodded and walked out the diner as Lorelai dropped her coffee cup. Luke ran over to her to make sure she was ok and Jess just laughed.

Paris came back about an hour later to take Tristin home. Tristin made sure that Rory's foot was propped up on the couch and that she was comfortable and asleep before he left. He left her note saying that he had went home and he'd call her later to let her know how things turned out. He and Paris drove back to Hartford in complete silence. When Paris pulled up in front of his house, he thanked her again for the ride and got out. Paris left and Tristin walked up to the front door. He pulled out his keys and opened the door. When he walked in the whole house was quite and devoid of any maids. He walked into the kitchen and noticed that the cooks were not there either. His house was completely empty. He went upstairs and went he got to his door he noticed a note taped to it.

_Tristin_

_You think you're an adult. Act like one. We left you your car, and your bank accounts, but that's it. No maids, no cooks, no help. We'll be in Europe for the next month. Behave yourself. If I have to come back to the states, your ass is going straight to military school. If it wasn't for your grandfather you'd be there now._

_Dad _

"Welcome Home." Tristin muttered to himself before flopping onto his bed.

AN: Ok, this is no where near my best work but I guess it's kinda just a filler anyway. I also thought that since Lorelai had always had a soft spot for Dean that she might hook him up with some food when Luke wasn't looking, plus I thought her dropping the coffee cup on "accident" was funny...Read and Review…


	13. The Offer Is Never Off The Table

Summary: What if Tristin had never left Chilton?

Disclaimer: I sadly do not own anything affiliated with Gilmore Girls.

Chapter Thirteen: The Offer is Never Off the Table 

Rory opened her eyes slowly. Her head rolled over on the pillow so she could look at the clock. When she saw the time she swore quietly realizing that she had thirty minutes to get up and be ready to go before she had to get on her bus. Forgetting about her ankle she swung her legs off the bed. The second she put weight on her ankle she howled in pain. "USE THE CRUTCHES!" she heard from the kitchen.

"What!" she yelled back

"The crutches, by your bed. Use them!" Lorelai yelled back

Rory turned her head to the wall and saw the crutches there. Swearing again she reached over and grabbed them. She used them to head over to her dresser and then proceeded to get dressed. When she was dressed in her Chilton uniform she came out into the kitchen hobbling on the crutches. Lorelai was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee. "Took you long enough!" Lorelai exclaimed but got up to help Rory with her book bag.

"Shut up. Luke's now please." Rory said agitatedly

"You look so cute, all defenseless." Lorelai said laughing

"Mom."

"Ok sweets hobble to the car. I won't make you walk to Luke's."

xoxo

When they got to Luke's Rory hobbled in with Lorelai cracking jokes behind her. The second the two Gilmore girls entered Luke's line of sight he began fussing over Rory. "Kirk!" Luke barked

"Yes Luke?"

"Get up."

"What?"

"Pick a new table. Rory's sitting here."

"No she's not I'm sitting here. I was here first."

"Do I look like I care Kirk, just get up and sit at different table."

"But I like this one. It's close to the door, I can see everyone walk by."

"Exactly but Rory's broken and she shouldn't have to walk that far therefore she's getting this table. So you can either get up and move or I'll move you myself."

Kirk looked terrified and moved mumbling an "I'm sorry you're hurt to Rory" who just yelled out "THANKS KIRK!".

The two Gilmore's just laughed and Luke walked back to the counter. He handed Jess a plate of chocolate chip pancakes. "Take these to Rory."

"Chocolate chip pancakes?" Jess asked knowing that normally Luke would be trying to force something healthy and nutritional down her throat

"She's hurt and they're her favorite. Just take them and tell Lorelai I'm bringing her coffee."

"Fine." Jess said. He walked over to the table and set the pancakes down in front of Rory. "From Luke."

"Do you want to sit down Jess? Eat breakfast with us?" Rory asked

Jess just nodded and sat down. Luke brought out Lorelai's food and four cups of coffee two of them being to-go cups. Luke walked back to the counter and came back handing Jess a plate of food. They ate and they talked for about ten minutes when Rory's cell phone rang. Rory looked at Luke. "You're lucky I'm not going to make you hobble out there just answer it and make it stop ringing!" Luke said gruffly

"No fair!" Lorelai yelled while Rory stuck her tongue out at her.

"Hello?" Rory asked

"Mary!"

"Bible Boy."

"How's that gorgeous ankle this morning?"

"My gorgeous ankle hurts like hell. How's that ego of yours? Still as big as ever I imagine."

"DIRTY!" Lorelai yelled

"Mom!" Rory snapped

"Did Lorelai just say dirty?" Tristin asked laughing

"Yeah. Her mind is in the gutter."

"So I was thinking…" Tristin started

"You thinking? Never a good way to start a sentence." Rory interrupted

"Funny Mary. You wound me. Anyway like I was saying, I should meet you out by the bus stop at Chilton."

"And why would you want to do that?"

"Help you with your stuff." Tristin said

"Tristin Dugrey wants to carry my books?"

"Dirty!" Lorelai whispered

"Mom there was nothing dirty about that." Rory said rolling her eyes

Tristin was laughing. "What do you say Mary, meet me at your bus stop?"

"Yeah I'll see you in thirty minutes Tristin."

"I'll be waiting." Tristin said closing his phone

Rory rolled her eyes again and looked up at the clock. "Crap I have to go. Thanks Luke!"

"You're welcome. Be careful on those crutches."

Rory kissed her mom on the cheek and looked over at Jess. "Bye Jess. I'll see you later." Rory said trying to scoop up all her stuff and the to-go coffee.

"Here let me help you." Jess said grabbing her stuff and walking towards the door with it. Rory stood there for a minute before Jess said, "Ror? You coming?"

"Yeah sorry." Rory said before hobbling out the diner

xoxo

Rory arrived at Chilton and true to his word was Tristin patiently waiting at the bus stop for her. Rory hobbled to the steps and Tristin gently lifted her down from them. The bus driver handed him Rory's bag, which Tristin took without a word. Then the driver closed the doors and when they were far enough away from the bus, pulled away. Tristin was still carrying Rory's bag when they got to the Chilton entrance. "I can take that you know." Rory told him

"I'm sure you could, but I got it." Tristin said rather matter-of-factly

"You don't have to baby me you know. I could have gotten down the steps just fine on my own." Rory said defensively

"No you would have fallen and sprained your other ankle. The steps were too narrow for you and the crutches. Frankly I have no idea how you got in the bus."

"Jess helped me." Rory admitted blushing

"Did you give him the same 'I can take care of myself' speech?"

"Of course."

Tristin walked a head of her and held the main entrance door open for her, earning a smile from Rory. She noticed that he hadn't said a word about what happened when he got home yesterday. She was about to mention it when she was interrupted by Tristin's voice. "We'll talk about it later."

"Huh?" Rory asked confused

Tristin just smiled at her. "Rory I've been watching you since the day you got here, and that's not meant to sound stalkerish and creepy, I know when you're really thinking about something, and since what happened last night hasn't been discussed yet, I took a guess. Was I right?"

Rory blushed again. _How is it possible that he knows me this well?_ "Yeah. That's what I was thinking about."

"Well then, like I said before we'll talk about it later. It's not important. What's important is getting you to your English class on time."

"Ok."

"You need to go to your locker?"

"Yea."

Rory and Tristin walked over to her locker and Rory leaned her crutches against the lockers. She tried to open her locker but it was stuck again. Tristin didn't want her jerking on it and then losing her balance, further damaging her ankle so he put his hand on hers stopping her. The second his hand touched her Rory sucked in a breath, not realizing she was holding it until he removed his hand and she exhaled. Tristin felt as if electricity had shot through him when his skin came in contact with hers. He always felt that when he touched her, sparks. He opened her locker for her and she smiled at him. She began removing her books in which he grabbed the second they came out of the locker. "Tristin, what are you doing?"

"I'm carrying your books Mare." He replied

"Well I got that much but why?"

"Because I can't very well see you carrying them and trying to use your crutches at the same time. Not only would you look funny, but you might get hurt worse, which is not something that I want to see happen."

"And why is that?" Rory asked jokingly

"You stepped in a whole and twisted your ankle which had nothing to do with me and Luke and your mom tried to kill me; if you get hurt again and I'm there when it happens, Luke will kill me."

"And that's it?" Rory questioned

"Of course not. I don't want to have to carry you again." he said smirking

Rory rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless. She shut her locker and the two walked to her English class earning several strange looks from the Chilton students. They walked into her English class and she took a seat next to Paris, who smiled at her. Tristin put her books on her desk. "See you after class Mary."

"Tristin your class is on the other side of the school. I can handle myself. I don't need you to meet me after classes." Rory said somewhat nicely but somewhat defensively as well.

"Get over it Mare." Tristin said before winking at her and walking out of the classroom. Before he got to the door Summer tried throwing herself at him and everyone took notice when the only thing that came out of Tristin's mouth was, "Later Mary."

xoxo

Paris watched Tristin leave and then looked back at Rory. She was reading her notes from Friday's class completely oblivious to all the stares she was getting from the girls in her class. _I can't believe that she doesn't know how serious he is about her!_ Paris thought to herself while she opened up her English book to start rereading Friday's assignment.

Rory looked up from her notes and noticed that half the class was staring at her. "Paris why is everyone looking at me?"

"Because you walked in here with Tristin carrying your books and your bag. Because Tristin will be here after this class gets out to carry your books and your bag. And because on his way out he completely ignored Summer who was trying her hardest to flirt with him." Paris said never looking up from her book.

xoxo

The second the class ended, Tristin was walking in to help Rory with her stuff.

"How'd you get here so fast?" Rory questioned

"Easy, I convinced Mrs. Brekinridge that I was helping you because you were on crutches and that if I didn't leave her class five minutes early that you'd be late for your next class and so would I. She couldn't tell me no, because Louise backed me up. Then not only did she agree to let me go ten minutes early instead of five, she even wrote a note to all of my teachers excusing me ten minutes early for the rest of the day. I tell you I like that lady." Tristin said smirking the whole time

Rory couldn't believe that Mrs. Brekinridge had agreed to let him leave early let alone get him excused from all of his classes early. "Well then Bible boy, let's go before we're late for our chemistry class."

"Lead the way Mary." Tristin said grabbing up all of her books and her bag and then opening the door to the classroom for her.

xoxo

Their chemistry class was painfully boring that day and neither of them was really paying attention to the lesson. All Tristin could think about was Rory. He was drowning in her. Every little thing reminded him of her during his first class and now being in the same room with her, in the seat right next to her, was driving him wild. He was gazing at Rory when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around he saw Duncan pass him a note.

_Tris- We're getting together after school today, Bowman planned a new prank or something, you in?_

_-Duncan_

Tristin sighed and took out a pen to write him back.

_Duncan- Do you even remember being arrested Friday night? Cause I sure do and it almost landed my ass in military school. Whatever you have planned I want no part of it. Besides I have plans today after school. –Tristin_

He passed it back to Duncan, not really expecting a reply but was surprised when he got one.

_Man, hanging out with Gilmore is making you soft! What's up with that anyway? You getting something out of her? I thought she was a Mary… or did you already take care of that:wink wink: -Duncan_

Tristin read that and was instantly disgusted with himself. How could he have ever had a friend like Duncan.

_Rory's not like that and I wouldn't want her to be. Don't you even think about talking about her like she's some whore. In fact don't talk about her at all. -Tristin_

_Calm down man. Someone's testy today. What happened to her anyway? She break her leg falling for your cheesy charm?- Duncan_

Tristin was about to reply to Duncan when Rory looked over at him. She smiled and then slid a piece of paper onto his desk. Smiling at her he tore up Duncan's note and gave the pieces back to him. He opened up Rory's note and read it.

_Tristin- When did this class get so boring? What are you and Duncan talking about? You look angry. –Rory_

_Mary- This class has always been boring, you just never noticed it until now. Nothing important. I'm not angry though, just a little agitated. Duncan seems to have forgotten we were arrested Friday and thinks I want to participate in a little after school mischief. –Tristin_

_Bible Boy- You know you'd think that as much time as we spend together, you'd know my name by now. What did you tell him? –**RORY**_

_Mary- I told him that I had plans after school. –Tristin_

_What are you doing after school today?_

_Driving you home of course._

_You don't have to do that Tristin I can take the bus again._

_Mare, you looked miserable on that bus today. Let me take you home._

_Are you sure it's not too far out of your way._

_I'm positive, besides it will give us time to have that discussion you wanted to have about Saturday night._

_Ok then._

Tristin smiled and then they both went to work on the problems the teacher had put on the board. Ten minutes before class was scheduled to end the teacher dismissed Rory and Tristin, and again Tristin swept up all of her belongings and escorted her to her third class for the day.

xoxo

After fighting with Louise and Madeline the whole class about her and Tristin's relationship, Rory was ready for class to end and lunch to start. Louise and Madeline kept demanding that there was something going on between Rory and Tristin and even Paris telling them they were wrong wasn't convincing the two girls. Of course it didn't make matters any better when Tristin knocked on the door ten minutes before class ended to get Rory. Paris picked up all Rory's stuff and carried it to the door and handed it to Tristin.

Rory and Tristin walked into the cafeteria and sat down at one of the tables. "Let me see your ankle." Tristin said

"Why?"

"Because I want to see it." Tristin told her as he sat down next to her. She placed her ankle in his lap and he unwrapped it. The ankle that used to be slender was swollen from having the slightest bit of pressure placed on it every so often but the bruising on it was fading. He began to rub her ankle.

"Tristin I've been fighting rumors about us all day, what do you think the Chilton population is going to say if they see you rubbing my ankle?"

"Mary don't worry about it. No one will be in here for another five minutes. Calm down and relax. Maybe if you did then the swelling on your ankle would go down some. Besides you can't tell me that this doesn't feel good." Tristin said smirking

Rory blushed slightly. "I never said it didn't feel good and I'm extremely appreciative of you today, I'm just tired of having to repeat myself every time some girl gives me a dirty look."

"They think you've stolen me from the masses huh?" Tristin said cockily

"Yeah something like that."

"Well let them think it. It doesn't matter. I don't care what they say and just between you and me, I'm getting tired of having a bunch of pathetic girls throwing themselves at me and my trust fund lately."

Before Rory had a chance to respond people started filling into the cafeteria. She went to remove her ankle from his lap but he gently gripped it. "I need to rewrap it Mare."

When Tristin was done wrapping her ankle again, he stood up. "Where are you going?" Rory asked surprised considering he hadn't left her side all day except to go to his classes.

"To get you some lunch. Anything in particular you want?"

"Tristin you don't have to get me lunch I'm perfectly capable of standing in line."

"Yes that you are Mare, but how are you going to carry the tray and use your crutches?" When Rory didn't answer him he added, "That's what I thought."

"Well at least let me come with you." Rory said

"You want to come with me?" Tristin asked slightly surprised

"If I'm with you no nosy people can bother me."

"True. Come on." He said reaching out to help her up. She stumbled slightly still not used to the crutches and his arms flew around her to catch her. "You ok Rory?" Tristin asked his voice full of concern

"Yeah I'm fine." Then as an afterthought she added, "Hey you called me Rory."

"I told you I knew you're name."

xoxo

The rest of the day went by quickly. Tristin was always outside her classrooms after they ended. After the last one they walked to Rory's locker and put away all her books that she didn't need for homework and then walked out to the Chilton parking lot. He opened the passenger door for her and help her in pulling the seat back some so that her ankle had plenty of room to be slightly elevated. He then got into the drivers seat and they pulled out of the parking lot. The first ten minutes were filled with comfortable silence as Rory listened to and played with the radio. Then Tristin decided to break the silence. "They left."

"What?" Rory asked confused

"My parents. They left. They went to Europe for a month, leaving me alone in the house with no maids, no cook, nothing. All they left me with was my car and my bank account. I can't use my credit cards, which doesn't really bother me since I don't use them all that often anyway, but that's besides the point. There was a note on my bedroom door that said if I wanted to be treated like an adult than I should act like one. He said if he even catches word of me getting into trouble I'll be on the first plane to North Carolina."

Rory was silent, unsure of what to say. "They abandoned me. They left me in a cold, dark house all alone for a month."

Rory was still silent processing what he had told her. They fell back into a comfortable silence as they turned off on the Stars Hollow exit. When they pulled into Rory's driveway he turned the car off and looked at Rory. He saw anger in her eyes, but he knew it wasn't directed at him but his parents. He knew that she could see the hurt on his face in his eyes. He was about to get out to open her door when he felt her hand on his arm. "You can stay with us Tristin."

"What?" Tristin said surprised. He hadn't told her all that so that she'd offer him a place to stay

"We have an extra room. It's yours if you want it." Rory said

He looked at her and could tell that she was being completely sincere. Rory was offering him a place to live for a month. A place that was anything but cold and empty. A place that was so full of warmth and love. He wanted nothing more than to say yes, but he knew that it would eventually get uncomfortable or that when the month was up he would have worn out his welcome. He was also scared that he'd get used to being there and seeing Rory everyday that when he had to leave it would kill him. He smiled at her. "You don't have to do that Rory."

Rory. He called me Rory again she thought to herself. "I know I don't have to. You don't have to answer me now. Take some time. Think about it."

Tristin just nodded and got out the car. He walked over to Rory's side and opened her door. She reached up to take his hand so he could help her stand but she was surprised when he scooped her up in his arms and carried her into the house. "What are you doing?"

"You shouldn't be on the ankle anymore for a little while. I'm just gonna sit you on the couch and then go get your stuff ok."

"Ok." Rory said not being able to do anything else. She couldn't understand why she felt so safe in his arms as he carried her into the house. She never once even worried about him dropping her.

He put her on the couch and walked back out to the car to get her bag. He came back in and Tristin said he would stay until Lorelai got home. They did their homework and Tristin was cleaning up all the books and papers when he suddenly looked at Rory and said, "I can't stay here."

Rory looked a little dejected but recovered before he noticed her face fall slightly and just responded, "Ok, but the offer is a standing one. It's never off the table."

xoxo

AN: Read and Review….


	14. I Asked Him To Move In With Us

Summary: What if Tristin never left Chilton for military school in North Carolina?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with Gilmore Girls. I can only wish my name was Amy Sherman-Palladino

Chapter Fourteen: I Asked Him To Move In With Us 

Rory and Lorelai were sitting in Luke's Tuesday morning eating their breakfast while Rory waited for her bus. They were just making small talk and had pretty much ran out of things to say. After Tristin had left Monday Rory had sat on the couch for hours trying to figure out what had possessed her to ask Tristin to move in with them. Part of it was pity and she knew that. She had this amazing mother and amazing home that was so full of love and warmth and he didn't. she wanted to be able to share that with him, although the reason why was still unknown. She wasn't sure why he had turned her down and it was kind of bothering her. When Lorelai was suddenly quiet Rory realized that she had never even told her mom she offered Tristin the guest room. "Hey Mom, I need to run something by you."

"Sure Ror, what is it?"

"Tristin's family abandoned him."

"THEY WHAT!" Lorelai yelled. She had never been so angry about something except when it concerned Rory.

"They left him home in that huge house by himself for the entire month. They even gave all the hired help paid vacations."

"The nerve of those people. Where do they get off abandoning their son like that!" Lorelai exclaimed

"Well I kind of did something that I forgot to run past you."

"What?"

"I offered him our guest room for the month."

"You did what?" Lorelai asked surprised and slightly confused

"I asked him to move in with us."

"Well, what did he say?" Lorelai said suddenly interested

"He turned me down."

"Why?"

"I don't know, but he did. But I let him know that the offer was never off the table. That he could change his mind anytime that he wanted too. I really hope you're ok with this. I know I should have asked you first, but he was so careful with me all day yesterday. He carried my books and my book bag all day. He bought and carried my lunch. He drove me home and stayed with me until you got home, and I just felt like I needed to do something for him and offering him our home seemed to fit. He looked so sad when he was talking about his parents and his cold lonely house."

"Rory sweetie breathe. It's fine. I would have done the same thing."

"You would have?"

"Yeah, in fact I'm a little concerned about him being there by himself too."

Rory nodded and then looked at the clock and realized that she was going to miss her bus if she didn't go now. "Crap mom, I gotta go. I'll see you after school today, ok."

"Is Tristin driving you home again?"

"Probably, he doesn't seem to understand the words I can take care of myself." Rory said kissing her mom on the cheek and walking out of the diner to catch her bus.

xoxo

Rory had been gone for about ten minutes when Luke walked over to Lorelai's table and set the coffee pot down. "You are a god, Luke Danes, a god."

"Really what am I the god of?"

"The god of coffee of course. Silly silly god." Lorelai said chuckling

"So," Luke started, "How's Rory's ankle?"

"It's better. She still needs the crutches, thanks for those by the way."

"Don't mention it."

"I think that either tomorrow or the next day she'll be fine without them."

"That's good. How's she handling the whole breakup thing again. I remember last time was pretty bad. I was worried about her the last time."

"Truth be told, I think she's fine. I mean it ended on her terms really. She was the one that handed out the ultimatum, not Dean, who by the way you should start serving again. He's a good kid, he's just a little insecure when it comes to Rory. He thought there was something going on between her and Tristin. He was spooked. It happens to the best of us."

"Yeah, we'll see. Maybe she saw it coming, you know. like she knew that this was where her and Dean were headed. Maybe she had already given her heart away to someone else, maybe there is something between her and Tristin."

Lorelai sighed unsure if she should fill him on the Tristin situation. Deciding that she needed his advice and would need eventually need his help painting and altering the guest room when Tristin inevitably accepted Rory's offer she decided to tell him what she really thought about the whole Tristin situation. "I think that ever since the day Rory met Tristin there was something there. He irritated her and drove her insane and she complained about him all the time, but she always talked about him. regardless of whatever he had done that day to piss her off she always had a funny story to tell me. I think that she forced herself to ignore how she could possibly feel because she didn't want to be another one of his conquests."

"I don't want her to another one of his conquests either!" Luke said loudly. He had always thought of Rory as a semi-daughter and the idea of her being somebody's 'conquest' drove him insane.

"Calm down coffee god, It's not like that with him, at least not anymore . He genuinely cares about her. But anyways like I was saying. I think that somewhere in the back of her mind there was always a part of her brain that said 'You like him Rory Gilmore!' and a little piece of her heart that agreed with that part of her brain."

"You really think that he's different? That he went from King of Chilton, Evil Tristin, the ultimate playboy to Tristin Dugrey, one woman man, guy who loves Rory Gilmore?"

"I think that when it comes to Rory that's who he always was, he just never knew how to show it."

"Maybe, but he is a teenage guy." Luke said unable to shake the protective feeling he was experiencing

"His parents abandoned him. He got into some trouble last Friday and when he got home Saturday night from here his parents were gone. All they left was a note saying they were in Europe for a month. They left him in that cold house all by himself. I feel really bad for him right now and so does Rory."

"How can they just abandon their kid! What kind of people are they!"

"They're Hartford elitists, that's what they do. But anyway, Rory asked him to move in with us."

"SHE WHAT!" Luke exclaimed surprised

"He turned her down. But I think he's going to change his mind. Do you think I could get some help repainting my guest room this weekend?"

Luke looked at her as if she was insane for requesting it but sighed. He knew better than to fight Lorelai on something that she obviously had her mind made up on. "Yeah I'll make Jess do it. Just let me know when and which color paint and I'll have it picked up too."

"Thanks Luke."

xoxo

Dean knew that they didn't know he was there. He knew that Luke and Lorelai weren't paying him any attention now that he wasn't Rory's boyfriend anymore. He hadn't even meant to eavesdrop until he heard Lorelai tell Luke he should start serving him again because he was a good kid. He sat down and stared out the window of the diner waiting patiently for Luke and Lorelai to finish talking so he could order something to eat. That's when he heard them start talking about Tristin's parents abandoning him. _Serves him right the rich arrogant jerk_ Dean thought to himself, but then he heard Lorelai say Rory asked Tristin to move in with them. His heart dropped to his stomach. He knew that her and Tristin were going to be friends but he never expected them to become that close. He stormed out the diner when he heard Lorelai ask Luke to help her paint the guest room. He had lost his appetite.

xoxo

Lorelai hadn't even noticed Dean until he stormed out of the diner. "Poor guy. He must have heard all of that."

"Yeah."

"I hope he's ok."

Luke just nodded and then said something about taking some orders and walked away from the table. Lorelai sat there for a few more minutes before getting up and heading to the Independence Inn.

xoxo

The day at Chilton progressed the same way it had the day before. Tristin showed up outside her bus stop and carried her stuff for the whole day. They ate lunch together and Rory and Tristin both kept repeating the words, "We're just friends" over and over again. Paris fought off accusations that she knew what was going on and was refusing to tell people because Rory and Tristin wanted to keep their secret relationship a secret. At the end of the day Tristin drove Rory home.

He had intended to drop her off and leave when her mom got home but when he pulled into the driveway Lorelai was sitting there waiting for them. Tristin got out of the car and helped Rory out. The second they turned around Lorelai was yelling about them all going to dinner at Luke's.

"Are you sure you want me to come Lorelai? I can go home you know. You don't have to keep me entertained."

"Nonsense of course I want you to come Tristin. You're involved in Rory's life and I want to get to know you better, and so does Luke."

"Uh oh." Rory said

"Uh oh? Don't say uh oh Mary you make me paranoid." Tristin said his voice a little shaky

"Don't worry about Luke, he's a softy once he realizes you aren't going to hurt or corrupt our Rory." Lorelai said

Rory rolled her eyes, knowing full on that Luke doesn't ever lighten up on any guy that exists in Rory's periphery, not even his own nephew. "Ok, but if we're going to dinner, we have to do some homework first."

Tristin just nodded and walked into the house behind Rory with her book bag and books in his hand. Lorelai smiled at the boy. She was slowly beginning to see that Tristin wasn't just some rich playboy with a trust fund. He cared about Rory, and from the look on her face when he helped her out of the car she cared about him too.

xoxo

Rory and Tristin did homework until about five thirty before Rory exclaimed she was hungry. They packed up all their stuff and headed out the door to meet Lorelai at Luke's since she had left to go over there an hour earlier. Rory was walking funny with her crutches and he could tell that she was in pain. "Mary you want me to carry you? You look like you're in some serious pain."

"No, you don't have to carry me. I'll be fine once I get some kind on pain medicine in me. I think I overdid it today." Rory said. Tristin was about to say ok when he heard Rory wince and yelp in pain slightly.

"Ok, that's it." He said standing in front of her and crouching down slightly "Hop on."

"What?" Rory said laughing

"Get on. I'm going to carry you. We're going to stop in Doose's before we go in Luke's and buy some pain pills or something. Now get on."

"You want to give me a piggy back ride?" Rory asked skeptically

"It's better than carrying you the over the threshold way isn't?" he asked

Rory sighed. "Ok." She said and climbed onto his back. He grabbed her under her knees to support her careful not to disturb the ankle. They walked into Doose's about five minutes later. Tristin headed straight for the aisle marked medicine and picked up a box of pain pills. Still carrying Rory he walked to the checkout line. When Rory saw Dean behind the register she tried to slip off Tristin's back before he noticed them but it was too late.

"How's the ankle Ror?" Dean asked rudely while ringing up her medicine

"It's fine. A little sore." Rory replied

"Hence the pain pills." Tristin said

"You moved on fast." Dean said staring at Rory

"What?"

"He's carrying you through town now."

"Her ankle hurts Dean, There isn't a single guy I know that wouldn't do the same thing."

"You asked him to move in with you?"

Rory's mouth dropped open and so did Tristin's. He hadn't expected that to be public knowledge.

"It must be awful for you. You break up with me because of him, then you ask him to move in with you and he turns you down. Makes you wonder if you made the right decision doesn't it." Dean added

Tristin looked over at Rory who looked like she was going to cry. "You ok Mary?"

"FOR GOD'S SAKE HER NAME IS RORY!" Dean snapped

"I know her fucking name!" Tristin yelled back

"Guys don't. not here. Taylor will have a cow," Rory said and then looked at Dean, "And you will lose your job. I don't know how you found out about me asking Tristin to move in with us and I really don't care." She added. She looked over at Tristin and said "I'm ready to go."

"Of course Mare." Tristin said before dropping a twenty on the counter for the medicine. He handed it to Rory and handed her back her crutches, placed his hand in the small of her back and led her out of the market.

AN: Ok I cut this one off before I had originally planned but this seemed like a good place to stop… ok so I guess all that's left is to say read and review!


	15. You're Sure This Is What You Want?

Summary: What if Tristin never left Chilton?

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls, it's sad I know, but I don't.

Chapter Fifteen: You're Sure This Is What You Want?

Rory and Tristin enter Luke's and head straight for Lorelai's table. Tristin pulled out Rory's chairs and took her crutches from her while grabbing her hand and easing her into the chair. She smiled at him and mumbled "Thanks."

"Don't mention it Mare." Tristin said smiling widely at her since she hadn't smiled since they left the market.

Lorelai had been sitting there watching the exchange between the two kids and smiled. "Wow you tow really have that routine down pact. How many times a day do you do that?"

"Once at lunch…" Tristin said smiling at Lorelai

"And once in each class we share." Rory said

"And how many classes do you two share?" Lorelai asked

"Four." Rory answered for him

"Well then I guess you do get a lot of practice then huh?"

"Yup." Rory and Tristin said at the same time

"Ok, that was freaky." Lorelai said laughing

"What?" they both said in unison

"That." Lorelai said

"Fill us in here Mom."

"You two are finishing each other's sentences and sharing thoughts. It's kind of freaky."

"I hadn't noticed that." Tristin said slightly in awe

"Me either." Rory said

"So… what do you got there?" Lorelai said pointing at the box in Tristin's hand

"Oh pain medicine." He said handing it to Rory

"Pain medicine? I thought you said your ankle wasn't hurting that bad. You don't think you broke it do you 'cause if you do I'll take you to the hospital, or Tristin can drive us or we can get Luke to take us, cause Luke'll do anything for you…" Lorelai said rambling

"Breathe Mom. I'm fine. I think I just overdid it today. I've been trying to see how much weight I could put on it all day."

"And you just let her try this experiment!" Lorelai said to Tristin

"Don't jump down Tristin. He was never around when I did it."

"And why is that?" Lorelai asked

"Cause I wouldn't have let her, then I would have taken her crutches and forced her to let me carry her for the rest of the day. Which I might do from now on, now that I know what she's doing when I'm not around." Tristin said

"Remember how much trouble you carrying me got us into ten minutes ago?" Rory said looking at Tristin

"That wasn't my fault." Tristin said laughing

"You're right, it wasn't." Rory said

"I'm right? That's a first with you."

"It was her fault." Rory said pointing at Lorelai

"What! How was that my fault I wasn't even there!" Lorelai asked shocked

"You had to have been the one that opened their mouth."

"About what."

"My offer to Tristin."

"Rory what happened?"

"We ran into Dean in the market. I was carrying Rory because she was wincing all the way here. When we got up to the checkout Dean was running the register and Rory tried to slip off my back before he saw us but it didn't work."

"And then he started going on about how I had moved on fast and that the whole time kept seeing Tristin carrying me around and that it must be awful for me since I offered Tristin a place to live and he turned me down. He even went as far as to say I was asking myself if I thought I had made the wrong choice when I chose Tristin over him."

Lorelai thought for a second before the words she knew were going to possibly make Rory made came out of her mouth. "Well you did kind of move on fast, and the whole town is talking about you and Tristin, especially with all the carrying they keep seeing," Lorelai said and then turned to Tristin, "But don't worry Tristin it's all good. They all like you." She told him before turning back to Rory "And you did offer him a place to live and he did turn you down. As for the whole questioning yourself thing was he right?"

"Of course not. And I'm not just saying that because Tristin is sitting here. Dean couldn't accept the fact that I have some friends who are guys. It wasn't just Tristin, it was Jess too. And I wasn't willing to give up my friends to make Dean happy. As shallow as it sounds I wanted friends that I could talk about the novel I was reading, or a lecture at Chilton with, and I couldn't do any of that with Dean."

"Good answer." Lorelai said under her breath, "You two hungry?"

When they both nodded Lorelai called Luke over to the table. After they ordered Lorelai looked at Rory and said, "And I'm sorry that Dean found out about the offer. I was telling Luke this morning and Dean overheard us, he looked crushed babe."

"Well I'd be crushed too if I was stupid enough to let someone like Rory slip through my fingers because I was too jealous." Tristin said causing Rory to blush

"Aww Ror, that was a pretty shade of red. I think I'll make it my favorite color." Tristin said smiling at her

"Shut up or you lose the tongue Dugrey." Rory said laughing

"Ok Mary, calm down." Tristin said pretending to be scared

Luke came to the table and placed food in front of the three of them. Lorelai looked around and saw that the diner was pretty much dead. The only other person in the diner was Kirk, and he was always there. "Hey Luke why don't you join us?" Lorelai asked

"I'm working."

"Yeah, you're feeding us and only us. Well and Kirk but he doesn't count."

"Hey!" Kirk yelled

"Sorry Kirk." Lorelai said

"It's ok."

"Hey Kirk if I give you ten bucks will you go sit in Weston's and eat pie instead of here?" Lorelai asked

"But I've already got pie here and it's half eaten I have to pay for it. And if I have to pay for it I'm eating the whole thing."

Luke was about to say it was on the house when Tristin said, "I'll pay for your pie Kirk."

"Ok then. Luke I'm leaving." Kirk said standing up. He walked over to Lorelai who was about to hand him the ten dollars when Tristin handed it to him instead.

Tristin shrugged at Lorelai. "I figure it's my dad's money, my dad abandoned me with only my bank account filled with his money I might as well waste it."

"Good point." Lorelai said laughing. She stood up and walked over to the door. Before anyone could ask what she was doing she flipped the open sign to closed and locked the door. "Now you have no customers you can eat with us." She said smiling at Luke

"Fine. Just let me get a plate of food and I'll be back." Luke said walking to the kitchen

"Luke!" Lorelai yelled

"What?" Luke said running back into the diner

"Is Jess upstairs?" Lorelai asked sweetly

"Damn it Lorelai that wasn't funny. I thought something had happened. You about gave me a heart attack."

"I'm sorry Luke, really I am. Is Jess upstairs?"

"Yes why?"

"Hey Tristin go tell Jess to come down and eat with us." Lorelai said, "Luke fix your nephew a plate too." She told him as Tristin went upstairs

"Fine." He said walking back towards the kitchen

When the diner was empty except for the two Gilmore Girls Rory looked at Lorelai and asked, "What are you doing?"

"You'll see."

"You're insane."

"Yes I am."

Tristin and Jess came back downstairs. Lorelai noticing that there table only seated four said, "We need a bigger table."

"You're making me move?" Rory asked her mother in disbelief

"Nope."

Just then Tristin came up behind her and scooped her up into his arms. Jess rolled his eyes which only Lorelai caught but she ignored it. "Where to Lorelai?" Tristin asked as Luke walked back into the diner.

"Why is he carrying Rory?"

"We're switching tables."

"Oh." Luke said. Lorelai pointed to a table and Tristin put Rory down. He walked over and picked up Rory, Lorelai and his plates and sat them down. Luke put his and Jess' down and they all sat down.

"My my how handy you are." Lorelai said to Tristin

"Yeah, he's a waiter and Rory's own personal elevator." Jess said dryly

They ate in peace for about five minutes before Lorelai decided she was bored. "So… Tristin. I feel like I know nothing about you. Tell us something."

"What do you want to know?" Tristin asked politely

"What's your favorite color?" Lorelai asked

"Blue."

"What shade?" Rory asked

Tristin paused for a minute and looked at Rory. She turned to face him completely and he blushed slightly before pointing at her eyes. "That one."

Luke looked over at Lorelai who was writing something down. He was about to ask her what she was doing when she passed him the napkin. He read it _Color Paint: Blue Shade: Rory's eyes_. Luke nodded knowing that she had just told him what color paint she wanted. He looked back at Rory and Tristin who were still having their moment. He cleared his throat causing Tristin to look away from Rory.

"Do you like to read?" Jess asked unsure if he was supposed to be asking questions and earning a look from Lorelai and Rory. "What I can't get to know him too?"

"No, it's fine. You can know whatever you want to know too. I have nothing to hide. I actually do like to read. What about you?" Tristin said

"Yeah I do. I have piles of books upstairs."

"More than Rory?" Lorelai asked

"No one has more books than Mary." Tristin said

"Do you get good grades?" Luke asked seriously

"In most of my classes. My English grade was struggling a little bit mainly because Mr. Balsom is a sexist jerk," he said earning a nod from Rory, "But I think that the Shakespeare play last weekend boosted it a lot."

"Mr. Balsom is a sexist jerk?" Lorelai asked

"Yeah, he favors girls. He was my teacher last year. It's almost as if he has a different grading scale for guys." Rory said, "But in all fairness he's a great teacher."

Tristin nodded and looked at Lorelai. "Anything else?"

"Favorite band?"

"Um, well I like all kinds of music but if I had to pick a favorite band I would have to say Green Day."

"Favorite author?" Jess asked

Tristin looked at Rory who smiled at him shyly. "Don't take this the wrong way but I feel like I'm being interrogated."

"That's because you are." Lorelai said smiling at him

"Oh, well as long as that's clear. And I guess my favorite author is Franz Kafka, even though I don't own a single one of his books."

"Why not?" Rory asked

"Well we used to live in a different house, and we moved into a bigger one over the summer, and all my books were boxed up and mysteriously disappeared while being moved from the house."

"Why would your father get rid of your books" Rory asked

"Who said his dad got rid of his books?" Jess asked but no one was listening

"Because my father is a jackass and if you ever meet him you'll agree with me Mary." Tristin said sounding slightly sad

"You ok?" Rory asked so only he could hear her

"Yeah, I'm fine." Tristin whispered back but sounding completely unconvincing

"Yeah ok." Rory said shaking her head and trying to stand up

"WHAT! What are you doing?" Tristin asked jumping up to help her

"I want to talk to you. Privately. Help me up the stairs." Rory said

"You are not walking up those stairs. You'll make your ankle worse." Tristin said protectively

"But I want to talk to you." Rory said

Tristin looked over at Luke and Lorelai. Lorelai was laughing at the two of them. "But you aren't walking up those stairs."

"The carry me. I don't care."

"You want me to carry you?"

"No, but I want to talk to you in private and you won't let me walk up the stairs so…" Rory said but before she could get the rest of her sentence out Tristin threw her over his shoulder and started walking over to the stairs.

"Well that was nice and chauvinistic." Jess said standing up and throwing his napkin down on the table, "I'm going out." The next sound was the sound of the diner door being slammed.

"Well, he's jealous." Lorelai said

"Huh? No he's not." Luke said

"Yes, he is. He has a thing for Rory." Lorelai said matter-of-factly

"He does?" Luke asked

"Luke you can't be that oblivious. If you were any more oblivious you'd be Rory. She has no clue either."

"Fine I'm oblivious, but this can't happen."

"What can't happen?" Lorelai asked confused

"Rory and Jess. That can't happen. I love Jess and he's my nephew but I refuse to let him drag Rory down. It won't happen I won't let it." Luke said

"Sweetie I don't think you have to worry about Rory and Jess. I'd be more concerned with Rory and Tristin right now. Speaking of which just let me know how much the paint is when you go get it tomorrow and I'll pay you back ok."

"You don't think something dirty is going on upstairs do you?" Luke asked and let go of the breath he was holding when she shook her head no. "I'm supposed to look for paint the color of Rory's eyes?"

"Yeah."

"Ok."

xoxo

"Please put me down now. I don't want to be carried over the threshold of Luke's apartment Tristin." Rory said

Tristin resisted every single urge in his body to grab her butt before putting her down. He made sure he set her down gently and that he was still holding her so she didn't put any weight on her ankle, since no one brought the crutches. They walked into Luke's apartment and both sat down on Luke's couch. Tristin put her foot in his lap and unwrapped it. "The swelling is getting worse Ror." He said with his voice filled with concern.

"I know. Like I said I think I overdid it today." Rory said reaching down to rub her ankle

Tristin took her hand of her ankle. "I'll do that." He told her as he began rubbing her ankle. "What did you want to talk about." Rory sucked in a breath when she felt his hands on her ankle and he felt her tense. She still hadn't said anything so he asked again. "Ror, what did you want to talk about?"

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Tristin said dropping his eyes to the floor

"You got kind of sad down there. I'm worried about you."

"Don't be. Nothing my family can do is going to upset me."

"Tristin they abandoned you for a month." Rory said, "I hardly think that you are really Ok with that."

"Look, I'm fine Rory. I know you are just worried but I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me. I'm going to be fine. Now, I'm worried about you. I saw the look on your face when Dean started in on you earlier. Do you think you made the wrong decision? You can tell me if you do, it won't upset me. Do you really think that you made the right decision picking to be my friend over his girlfriend?"

Rory looked at Tristin. He was looking down at the ground and she realized that he hadn't looked at her since he had started rubbing her ankle. He looked so insecure. "Tristin, look at me." when he didn't look up at her she said, "Please look at me." When he still didn't look at her a tear her eyes filled with tears. "Tristin please." She begged

He heard her whimpered voice and he could tell that she was really upset. His head jerked up and when he saw her eyes full of tears he felt awful. He pulled her to him and she held him as tight as she could. "Don't cry Rory. Please don't cry. I never want to make you cry again. Look at me."

When Rory looked at him he smiled at her and the tears that had been in her eyes were rolling down her face. He reached up and took her face in his hands, rubbing the tears of her cheeks with his thumbs. "I promise you, that when I'm ready to talk about how I feel about my parents abandoning me, that I will come to you and pour my heart out. But right now, I'm just not ready. It has nothing to do with how much I trust you, because I trust you more than anyone in my life. It has nothing to do with you. It's me and it's my problem and when I'm ready for your help, because I know that you can and will help me, I'll come to you. Do you understand, I mean is that alright with you?" Tristin asked

Somewhere in the middle of his ramble their faces had become really close. If either moved forward just an inch their lips would meet. They held eye contact like that for about two minutes, neither moving, neither speaking. Just Tristin wiping tears from her face and Rory staring into his eyes. When it became too much for him to handle he let go of her face and pulled back slightly. He knew that if he didn't he would kiss her, and he wasn't sure if even he was ready for that. "Yeah. It's fine. Let's go back downstairs. Help me up." Rory said quietly

"There is no way in hell I'm letting you go back down there on your own. Your ankle is far too swollen, and I couldn't live with myself if you fell down the stairs or something. You'll go the same way you came." And with that he reached down and scooped her up over his shoulder again with her laughing the whole time.

xoxo

When they got downstairs the first thing they noticed was Luke standing by the stairs. "Finally!" Luke exclaimed

Rory watched Lorelai flip the closed sign back over to open. "What's going on?"

"Luke didn't want to open the diner back until you two came back down. He said something about not wanting the whole town to think that he was letting you two have sex up there." Lorelai said laughing

Luke looked embarrassed. "That is not what I said Lorelai. That is what you said!"

Rory and Tristin looked over at Lorelai who was shrugging her shoulders. "You're right I did say it. All Luke said was he was waiting till you two came back down to open so that the whole town wouldn't be talking about y'all. I added the sex part mainly to see Luke's eyes bug out of his head." Lorelai said laughing

"Did it work?" Tristin asked

"Oh yeah." Lorelai said

"So, I'll pick up the paint tomorrow and I'll let you know how much it was and I'll send Jess over around noon on Saturday." Luke said to Lorelai

"What are we painting?" Rory asked confused

"We, my dear, aren't painting anything. We have already convinced Jess to paint and I'm thinking about recruiting Tristin, since Luke hates to paint, to help him on Saturday at noon."

"Ok, I got that but what are we painting and what color?"

"The guest room and I don't know yet. I told Luke to surprise me." Lorelai said winking at Rory and then turned to Tristin. "What are you doing Saturday around noon?"

"Helping Jess paint your guest room apparently." Tristin said smiling

"You don't mind? Cause you really don't have to." Rory asked

"What else am I going to do? Sit at home by myself and watch TV, when I could be at your house spending time with a guy who I think wants me as far away from you as possible. You know me I like causing trouble. Count me in." Tristin said chuckling

"Why would Jess want you as far away from me as possible?"

Tristin was about to say something when Lorelai cut in. "Don't even try it. She'll tell you you're insane. That Jess doesn't like her, he just couldn't stand Dean. Believe me I've tried."

"You guys are crazy. Jess doesn't like me. Can we go home now?" Rory asked

"Why because you don't want to discuss Jess anymore? Cause I gotta tell you Ror, we can discuss Jess just as much there as here." Lorelai said

"No, because my ankle hurts and I want to get off of it." Rory said wincing as she stepped to get her crutches.

"Why don't you just admit you need help?" Tristin asked

"Because I don't."

"I'm sorry that was you just now wincing while you walked. Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital. You might have broken it Ror." Tristin said seriously

"I'm fine. Besides you're giving me a piggy back ride all the way home."

"Am I?" Tristin asked playfully

"Yes, you are Mr. Dugrey." Rory said confidently

Tristin just smiled at her and said "Hop on."

"DIRTY!" Lorelai yelled

"Mom!" Rory said

"Sorry I couldn't help it sweets."

"Bye Luke!" Rory called out to him

"Bye you guys. I'll see you tomorrow."

"How do you know you'll see me tomorrow?" Tristin asked curiously

"Because you're always here with Rory."

Tristin just nodded and waved bye before grabbing hold of Rory again. "I'll meet you guys outside." Lorelai told Rory and Tristin

Lorelai stayed behind and looked at Luke. "You're right. He'll eventually change his mind and then he'll move in with you. I only have two questions?" Luke said

"And what are they?"

"What happens when he doesn't want to go home at the end of the month?"

"Well I guess we'll burn that bridge when we get there. What's the other one?"

"What happens when those two start dating, because I'm not sure they won't be by the end of the month. I mean are you sure that this is what you want?"

Lorelai nodded. "That is a really good question."

"Well what are you going to do?"

"I never said I had an answer for it. I just said it was a good question." Lorelai said before walking out the door.

AN: Ok originally this chapter was something completely different and then when I sat down to write it this is what came out. I hope you like it, and if you don't then you can let me know but it won't matter much to me at this point, mainly because after I post it its already out there and I'm not going to redo it… lol.. read and review…


	16. Guess What I Found On My Couch

Summary: What if Tristin never left Chilton?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that is affiliated with Gilmore Girls. I wish I did, but I don't.

Chapter Seventeen: Guess What I Found On My Couch

(Thursday night)

Rory walked out of her room without her crutches. She was still slightly limping but her ankle felt significantly better. "Looks like the ankle's better." Tristin said from the couch.

"Yeah. Lots better actually. I probably won't need your help with everything tomorrow. You know since I won't need the crutches." Rory told him

Tristin nodded but felt slightly pained. He hated that she had been in pain but the thought of her not needing him anymore was killing him. He hadn't had to carry her anywhere today and tomorrow she won't even need him to carry her books or lunch or anything. Rory noticed his somewhat sad face.

"What's with the sad face Bible Boy?"

"We'll still hang out all the time right?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't we?" Rory asked confused

"You won't need me anymore."

"Tristin, I'm not just hanging out with you because I need you to carry my stuff or me occasionally. I enjoy spending time with you. I offered you my home."

"I know. It's just sometimes I don't know why you gave me another chance. It's not even a second chance, it's like a fifth chance." Tristin said looking at the floor

"Tristin look at me." Rory said, "I gave you your fifth chance because you deserved it. That's all you need to know." Rory couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the self-assured, self-confident, cocky Tristin.

"Do you want to do something tonight?" Tristin asked her

"Like what?"

"I don't know where's your mom tonight?"

"She went out. Her and Sookie are having a girls night out. They'll be gone for a while."

"You want to go rent some movies and get some Indian food?" Tristin asked knowing she would never turn down Indian food, then for the hell of it added, "my treat."

"Sounds like a plan, just let me change and we'll go get some movies. You call the Indian place and order. While we're out we'll pick it up the way home." Rory said walking into her room.

Five hours, more Indian food than any two people should ever be able to eat, and two movies later Rory and Tristin were lying on the couch. Rory's head was on a pillow in his lap and Tristin had his arm draped along her side. His other arm was resting on the arm of the couch and both were sound asleep. Lorelai came in and sniffed. "Rory, I thought I told you that if you were going to eat Indian food to leave the windows open and air out the house. It smells awful in here!" Lorelai yelled. She was about to yell for Rory again when she saw them out of the corner of her eye. _They look so comfortable. I really don't want to wake them._ Lorelai thought to herself. She decided that she wouldn't and went upstairs to get into bed.

xoxo

Rory woke up and couldn't place where she was. She could feel something wrapped around her. She opened her eyes a little bit more, still waiting for eyes to adjust to the darkness. Once they had she looked up from where she was and saw Tristin sitting up on the couch sound asleep. She remembered that they were sitting on the couch watching Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, but the last thing that she remembered saying to him was trying to convince him that the oompa loompas were not evil beings. _He looks so innocent when he sleeps. Almost cute,_ Rory thought to herself. _Wait a minute did I just call Tristin Dugrey cute! Oh my god! _She slipped out of his embrace and grabbed a blanket off the floor. Then she surprised herself by lying her head down on his shoulder and covering them both up. When she had laid back down he shifted slightly and within seconds she was wrapped up in his arms. She fell asleep instantly feeling safe and protected in his arms.

xoxo

Tristin woke up the second Rory sat up out of his lap. He didn't want her to know he was awake. It took him a second to remember what they were doing and how they got into this situation, sound asleep with her in his lap at what looked like three thirty in the morning. He was kind of anxious to see what she was going to do, so he opened his eyes slightly and saw her pick up a blanket. He thought she was just going to just cover him up and then go get in her bed, but was surprised when she laid her head down on his shoulder. He pretended to still be asleep and shifted slightly so that his arm was wrapped around her. He noticed her breathing slow and he knew she was asleep. He nuzzled his face in her hair for a few seconds inhaling the fruity scent that was Rory's shampoo. Then he fell into a deep sleep holding Rory in his arms.

(Friday Morning)

Lorelai came downstairs expecting to see just Tristin on the couch. She had assumed that Rory would have woken up and went and got in her bed, but she was surprised to see that Rory was still asleep on the couch with Tristin. She also noticed that at some point in the night one of them had woken and covered both of them up. Lorelai couldn't help but smile. They really did look comfortable and they both looked really happy. She would have let them stay that way but they needed to get ready for school, especially if Tristin didn't have an extra uniform in his car.

"Rory!" Lorelai said loudly. She watched Rory shift slightly and fall deeper into Tristin's embrace. His grip around her tightened. "Tristin!" she yelled.

Tristin's eyes jerked open and saw Lorelai standing over him and Rory. He shook her slightly. "Ror. Ror wake up." Rory shook her head no and cuddled into Tristin. Tristin sighed, _Figures I finally get her wrapped in my arms and I have to make her get out of them against her will. It's not fair_ Tristin pouted to himself. "Sweetheart if you don't wake up we're going to be late for school and you have an English test first thing in the morning."

While Tristin was talking about her English test Rory bolted up off of him. She was slightly embarrassed that she was waking up next to Tristin with her mother stand over them. "Do you have a uniform in your car Tristin?" Lorelai asked

"Yeah. I do."

"You go get it and you can use the upstairs shower, while Rory's in the downstairs shower. You two only have an hour to be ready and when you two are meet me at Luke's."

"Ok." They both said in unison

Lorelai left and Rory went straight into the shower and Tristin walked outside to his car.

xoxo

Lorelai walked into Luke's and plopped down at the counter. "Luuuuuuke coffee!" Lorelai said loudly

"I'm coming hold your horses Lorelai." Luke called from the kitchen

Luke walked out and poured her a cup of coffee then as an afterthought left the pot with her. Lorelai smiled "Such a sweetheart."

"I just don't feel like waiting on you anymore this morning." Luke said gruffly

"OK but then you'll never know what I found cuddled up on my couch this morning!" Lorelai yelled to him

Luke stopped dead in his tracks. "What?"

"Two cuddled up teenagers."

"Rory and Tristin were cuddled up on your couch!"

"Yeah. It was so cute."

"Well I'm glad you're happy about this. No need to worry about them getting too close." Luke said sarcastically

Lorelai was about to say something when the two of them walked in. "Hey Luke!" Rory said

"Morning you two." Luke said before walking back to the counter to get two more coffee cups.

"So… How'd you two sleep last night?" Lorelai said

Rory blushed and Tristin just smirked widely. "Fine. I slept fine."

"Just fine Mary? I had an amazing night's sleep." Tristin said

Lorelai was smiling and Luke walked over to the table to give them all some breakfast, "What are you smiling at?" he asked Lorelai

"Nothing."

"Hey Ror, no crutches today?" Luke asked

"Nope, I don't need them anymore. Thanks for letting me borrow them. I'll bring them back to you after school today."

"Don't worry about it, I'll get them tomorrow when I bring all the paint and stuff over." Luke said

"Ok."

They ate their breakfast and then Rory and Tristin left to go to school.

AN: OK I'm sorry to cut this chapter so short…this one was really just a filler…


	17. I Want You Back Rory

Summary: What if Tristin had never Left Chilton for Military School in North Carolina?

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls or anything that is affiliated with the show.

Chapter Seventeen: I Want You Back Rory

(Saturday Morning)

"Mom Please explain to me why you're painting the guest room again?"

"I already told you this last night Rory. I want him to have a place that feels like his. I want him to feel at home."

"He never agreed to stay here Mom." Rory reminded her

"No but he will, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow. But he will."

"Whatever you say Mom."

"What time is he getting here?" Lorelai asked

"Um… eleven I think."

"Well it's ten now, so that gives us plenty of time to talk."

"About what?"

"About you and Tristin all cuddled up on the couch yesterday morning."

"We just fell asleep watching a movie, that's all. There's not a bigger story here Mom." Rory said exasperated. They had been having this conversation since Tristin left last night after dinner.

"Yeah, but you woke up and chose to lay back down with him."

"So what?"

"You could have went and got in your bed Ror. Instead you two covered up and cuddled up with each other."

"When I laid back down last night with him, we weren't cuddled up Mom. My head was on his shoulder, he had one arms draped around my shoulder that's it. I don't know how we ended up in the position I woke up in. But it doesn't matter. We are just friends. That's it."

"Ror… you two are never going to be just friends. There are feelings there and you can't tell me there aren't. He took care of you all week, I saw you two. The way you look at each other. The way he looks at you. They way you let him throw you over his shoulder the other night at Luke's. There's something there kiddo."

"Well then why are you letting him move in here if you think that we're going to be romantically involved?"

"Because I trust you and I know Tristin's scared of Luke."

"Ok look this is the end of this discussion. I'm going to get dressed in some crappy clothes so I can help them paint. I still think it's kinda dirty that you have him painting his own room, and he doesn't even know it."

"Yeah well, he'll get over it."

"What color did you end up picking anyway?"

"You'll see."

Rory went to her room to change and when she came back Lorelai was gone. She found a note by the coffee pot that just said _Be back soon. Behave yourself._ Rory went into the living room to watch TV. She had been sitting there watching Saturday Morning cartoons for about an hour when someone knocked on the door. She looked over at the clock and noticed that it was eleven. She got up and walked over to the door yanking it open not even looking at the person standing outside and walked back to the couch. "Damn it Tristin I thought I gave you a key, you made me get up."

"You gave him a key?" said a voice that most definitely didn't belong to Tristin

Rory turned around quickly. "Dean hi. What are you doing here?"

"Can I come in?" Dean asked

Rory hadn't noticed that he was still standing in the doorway. "Yeah sure come in."

Dean took a few steps in. "So you gave him a key?"

"Yeah." Rory said sheepishly

"Are you with him?"

"No."

"So you two aren't together?"

"No Dean we aren't together."

"OK. Good. So I've been thinking."

"About what?"

"Do you want to get back together?" Dean asked quickly

"What?"

"Do you want to get back together?" Dean asked a little slower this time

"I heard you the first time, I just meant what are you talking about."

"Like I said I've been thinking and the other day when you and the accountant came into the market, I was so jealous. I should have been the one taking care of you. I should have been ok with you two being friends. I should have been more for you, but I let my jealousy get the better of me and I'm sorry. It's just that I love you so much."

"Dean…" Rory started

"No, don't say anything. Just think about it." Dean said before reaching over and pulling her to him. He captured her lips in a kiss and Rory was too stunned to move, too stunned to stop him. She never even heard the front door open.

"I'm sorry I guess I should have knocked, but I have this key and I thought…" came Tristin's voice from the door.

Rory's heart leapt to her throat and she pulled Dean off of her. "Tristin, I…"

"No it's ok Mary. If you want to get back together with the bag boy that's fine. I'll just go over to Luke's and come back later with Jess, give y'all some make up time." Tristin said before turning around and half walking half running out the door.

Rory turned around to look back at Dean. "WHAT IN THE HELL WAS THAT!"

"What!"

"Why did you kiss me!" Rory yelled

"You didn't exactly stop me Rory." Dean snapped back

"I can't do this I have to go." Rory said looking for her jacket.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going after Tristin!"

"So you are with him?" Dean asked angrily

"No, I'm not with him! But I'm not with you either!"

"Why not Rory? I want you back. I promise to accept the fact that you're friends with that rebel wannabe and the accountant."

"First of all they have names. They would be Jess and Tristin. Second of all you don't want me back, you're just jealous and think that if we get back together it will go away. But it won't. You say you can be ok with Jess, which I believe, but as far as Tristin goes. You couldn't be ok with my relationship with Tristin if you tried. I bet it would kill you to know that I woke up yesterday with his arms wrapped around me on the couch not because something is going on but because we fell asleep watching a movie and throughout the course of the night ended up like that. Chances are it'll happen again and when I tell you about it or you find out you would never believe me when I said it was innocent, because you don't trust me or Tristin and you definitely don't trust the two of us alone together. Third of all Dean, I never said I wanted you back."

Dean looked crushed when she told him about waking up with Tristin, but he covered it well. "I love you Rory. I want to make us work."

"WELL I DON'T LOVE YOU! I NEVER DID!" Rory yelled before clamping her hand over her mouth. It wasn't what she meant to say.

"What do you mean you never loved me? Rory you told me you loved me!"

"I know and I'm sorry but I lied. I thought I loved you but when I look back I don't think that I ever did. I am so sorry Dean." Rory said in a quiet voice

"HOW COULD YOU LIE TO ME ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE THAT!" Dean yelled

"Because it was what you wanted to hear, and I wanted to make you happy." Rory said. Dean just stood there making no sign of moving so Rory just put her jacket on and walked out the front door. _I've got to find Tristin._

AN: Ok again I know a short chapter but the next one is longer I promise.


	18. What Exactly Do You Want From Me?

Summary: What if Tristin never left Chilton?

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls.

Chapter Eighteen: What Exactly Do You Want From Me?

Rory ran all the way to Luke's. "Honey what is it?" Lorelai said worried when she saw Rory out of breath and with tears in her eyes.

"Tristin! Is Tristin here?" Rory gasped out

"No, babe he hasn't been here. I thought he'd be at the house. It's eleven thirty."

"DAMN IT!" Rory said loud enough to make the whole diner look at her.

Luke and Jess walked out of the kitchen and saw the state Rory was in. "Rory are you ok? What happened?" Luke demanded

"Down Luke, I'm figuring it out." Lorelai said, "Now Rory, tell mommy what happened."

"Dean happened." Rory said and then walked out of the diner.

xoxo

Tristin had been walking around for the last ten minutes. He couldn't believe that Rory and Dean were back together. Rory hadn't seemed too broken up about the break up and she had never shown any sign of wanting the bag boy back. Tristin stopped in the middle of some footbridge and sat down. He had always thought he was stronger than this but here he was sitting on a bridge with tears in his eyes. He felt so weak. He picked up a rock and threw it into the water. _Damn Dean!_

xoxo

Luke and Lorelai stood in the diner with their mouths wide open. Lorelai was about to say something when Luke opened his mouth. "I'll kill him. Whatever he did, I'll kill him."

"Not if I get to him first." Jess said hatred dripping from his voice

"How very chivalrous of you both. Now let's take some charge here. Dean is probably at the house, so I'll go there and find out what happened. Luke you run your diner like nothing happened and Jess you find either Tristin or Rory. Chances are Rory is looking for Tristin so it's kind of a win-win situation."

"But…" Luke started

"I'll see you both back at the house in half an hour." Lorelai said before walking out

xoxo

Rory walked all over Stars Hollow before she even thought about the bridge. She remembered showing it to Tristin Thursday night when they were walking around waiting for the Indian food to be finished. He had loved it. He thought the water was calming. Rory turned around and headed for the bridge. She couldn't believe Dean. _What was he thinking, kissing me like that! I didn't want to kiss him, I didn't even want to see him. it was supposed to be Tristin who showed up at the door not Dean!_ Rory's breath caught in her throat when she saw Tristin. He looked upset and Rory wasn't sure why. She knew that he hated Dean and hated the way Dean treated her but that was it. She walked over to him and sat down next to him. He hadn't seemed to notice her so she put her hand on his. His head turned to face him and his mouth opened slightly when she intertwined their fingers. "I'm not with Dean. We aren't getting back together."

"Rory you don't owe me any explanations." Tristin said

"You called me Rory."

"Yeah, well I tend to do that when I want to be taken seriously. Sometimes I want you to take me seriously you know."

"I know."

Tristin sighed. "So if you aren't with Dean then what was with the kiss?"

"He kissed me. I didn't kiss him back. I shoved him away and tried to run after you." Rory said quietly

"Oh. Why did you run after me?"

"You seemed upset and you're my friend. You mean a lot to me and I'm not about to give you up right now."

"What exactly do you want from me Rory?"

"I want you to come home with me right now and paint four walls a really pretty color that my mom picked out, and then while the paint is drying I'll tell you a secret."

"That's all you want from me?" Tristin asked considering that wasn't the answer he had been hoping for

"No, but come on please come home with me."

"Ok." Tristin said pulling Rory up with him

Rory stood up a little too fast and put a little too much weight on her ankle causing a wince to fall form her mouth. "What's wrong?" Tristin asked worried

"I ran all the way to Luke's. I've been walking around for the last twenty minutes looking for you. My ankle is still a little sore." Rory admitted

Tristin shook his head and put his arm around her so that he was supporting part of her weight. "Can you walk or do you need me to carry you?"

"I can walk, just slowly."

"Slow it is."

xoxo

Lorelai walked up to her yard and noticed that Dean was still there standing next to Tristin's car. "Thinking of keying it, or slashing the tires?" Lorelai asked playfully

"No, I was thinking about bashing in the windshield but that's just me."

"Dean, what happened here this morning?"

"I basically begged Rory to take me back, which she didn't do. Then I kissed her, and she didn't kiss me back. Then Tristin walked in and got mad. Then Tristin walked out and Rory frantically started looking for her jacket to run after him. Then she told me that she never loved me. And then she actually left to go after the accountant."

Lorelai was surprised. She didn't think that Rory would have actually admitted to him that she didn't love him and never had. Lorelai felt sorry for Dean but she felt just as bad for Tristin. He had obviously walked in on something and taken it the wrong way. "Look Dean, I'm sorry about all that, and I really don't want you to take this the wrong way but…" Lorelai started

"But what…" Dean snapped looking back at Tristin car

"Ok first of all back away from the pretty Porsche." Lorelai said

"It's just money. That's all he has that I don't."

"That and Rory's heart. Look kiddo, she doesn't know it yet and neither does he but she cares about him. it's breaking my heart to watch your face right now. But you really can't be here when they get back. And you probably wont want to be here in ten minutes when Luke and Jess get here, because a crying Rory came into the diner and they are really mad at you right now."

Dean just nodded and started walking away. "Dean?"

"Yeah."

"I'm going to miss you being around."

"Me too. I'm going to miss hanging around here, but you'll move on when Tristin moves in." Dean said bitterly

xoxo

Tristin and Rory were arriving just as Dean was leaving. Dean looked at the pair bitterly when he saw Tristin's arm around Rory. Dean was about to leave when Tristin grabbed his arm. "I want to talk to you." Tristin looked at Rory who looked a little worried but just nodded. Rory walked over to Lorelai who looked back at Tristin. "She's just a little sore, I'll be in a minute." Tristin told Lorelai. Lorelai and Rory went in the house.

"Congratulations account, you win." Dean said the second Tristin turned back around to face him.

"And what exactly did I win Dean?" Tristin asked

"How about we start with Lorelai's trust, which took me months to earn. Then we'll move on to Luke's approval, which I never got. And we'll finish with Rory. You won Rory."

"Me and Rory are not together Dean."

"No, not yet. But I know you Tristin. You won't stop until you are."

"I love her."

"No, I love her. You're just obsessed with the one girl who didn't fall at your feet right away."

Tristin's face turned from indifference to anger. "It's not like that Dean and you know it. Now I'm going to go in that house and paint some walls. I suggest you leave. You've done enough damage to her for one day."

"I'VE DONE DAMAGE!" Dean yelled

"YES YOU'VE DONE DAMAGE!" Tristin screamed back

"You ruined our relationship!"

"I had nothing to do with the destruction of your relationship. That was all you and Rory. You couldn't handle the fact that she had guy friends that she had more in common with than she had with you. That was what ruined your relationship. Not me!"

The two boys continued fighting and never noticed Luke and Jess walk up. Luke handed the paint and the brushes to Jess who just walked into the house shaking his head. "Enough!" Luke yelled causing Dean and Tristin to both stop yelling. "Dean go home now! I don't know what you did to Rory this morning and I don't really want to hear your side of the story. She was upset and crying and that's enough for me to know that you're leaving NOW!"

Dean didn't say a word he just walked out of the yard. Luke turned back around to face Tristin. "Everything ok now?"

"It's fine. Let's go paint this room before Lorelai tries and we have to repaint the whole house."

"Good point." Luke said as him and Tristin both walked into the house.

xoxo

Luke, Rory and Jess were all in the guest room when Tristin came out of the bathroom. "What color are we painting this room?" Tristin asked

"Yeah, I don't even know what color it is." Rory said

Luke put the paint down in the center of the room and pulled the lid off the paint. In the bucket was the most gorgeous color of blue Tristin had ever seen. "I hope it's close enough Lore. It wasn't an easy color to find. I had to drive to Hartford to get it."

Lorelai saw the look on Tristin's face and she knew that he loved it. "It's perfect Luke. What do you guys think?"

"It's blue." Jess said before reaching down and dipping his roller into the blue.

"It's pretty." Rory said

"It's the most gorgeous shade of blue I have ever seen. It matches Rory's eyes." Tristin said

"Good. You three paint. Luke come with me." Lorelai said walking out of the room

Luke followed her out. "It's perfect Luke. Thank you."

"Your welcome, now what do you want me to do?"

"Just make sure they don't paint everything in sight. I have to go shopping." Lorelai said with a giddy smile on her face.

"You want me to supervise?"

"That and refinish those bookcases we took out of there yesterday."

"Ok, I can do that. What are you shopping for?"

"Books."

"For what?"

"Obviously to put on the newly refinished bookcases." Lorelai said

"What kind of books?"

"Kafka." Lorelai said and then went downstairs. The only thing Luke heard was the front door shutting. _Lorelai is insane. She has managed to redo her entire life to fit this guy in and by the time he actually moves in he'll be gone in two weeks._

xoxo

Jess finished painting one of the walls and looked over at Rory. _She even looks beautiful in crappy old rags covered in blue paint. God, this color blue really does match her eyes. Tristin was right about this shade of blue. It really is the most beautiful color I've ever seen._ He heard Rory giggle and turned back around to face her again and what he saw was her being picked up by a blue faced Tristin. They were both laughing. And he couldn't help but be jealous.

xoxo

Rory had just rubbed blue paint all over his face so Tristin picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. She was laughing and he couldn't help but notice how beautiful her laugh was. It was then that he had the great idea to dip his hands in the blue paint and slap her on the ass leaving a handprint. So he reached down and dipped his hand in the blue paint while he still had her on his shoulders. She yelped half in surprise half in slight anger when his hand hit her ass. Jess looked over at the two and shook his head. "I'm going to get something to drink. You guys want anything?"

"Nope." Tristin said

"No thanks Jess." Rory said

"Ok, I'll be back in a few." Jess said walking out.

Rory and Tristin stood back and looked at the two walls they had been painting. They were both painted completely and only one wall was left to be painted. "So should we finish this wall together. I mean we could get it done in what twenty minutes." Tristin said somewhat uncomfortable with the silence

"Yeah I guess so." Rory said

They both started painting the wall in complete silence. After about ten minutes the silence began to seriously irritate Tristin. "So why'd your mom pick this color?"

"Do you really want to know?" Rory asked

"Yeah."

Rory sighed. She had been hoping to finish painting the walls before she had to have this conversation. "Because it's your favorite color." She said as she put her paint brush down in the tray.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Tristin asked curiously

"Because this is your room."

"Why is this my room?" Tristin asked still painting.

"Tristin stop painting and look at me." Rory said

Tristin stopped painting and sat the brush down next to hers. "Why is this my room Rory?"

Rory took a deep breath. "Ok, here goes. This is your room because I want you to move in here for as long as your parents are gone. I worry about you in that big house all by yourself and so does my mom. We both love having you around the house here and I think that it would be beneficial for you to stay here. You already spend more time in Stars Hollow than in Hartford."

"Well that's because I hate Hartford." Tristin said laughing

"Tristin."

"You're serious aren't you Rory?" Tristin asked somewhat in disbelief

"As a heart attack."

"Rory. I don't want us to become uncomfortable and that's what's going to happen if I move here. That's why I turned you down the first time you offered me this room. It had nothing to do with you."

"Oh."

"I like the way we are now Ror. This could make things extremely difficult and complicated between us."

"Oh."

Tristin didn't like the look on her face. She looked so sad and he couldn't bear to see the look on her face and be the cause of it. "But look… if you are really serious about this then I'll do it. I'll move in with you and Lorelai."

"Really!" Rory said excitedly

"Yeah under one condition."

"What's that?"

"The second it gets weird between us and you want me to leave you have to let me know. Promise me that when you want me to leave you'll tell me."

"What makes you think that I'm going to want you to leave?"

_Because no one ever stays with me that long,_ Tristin thought to himself but out loud he said, "Because eventually you'll want to get rid of me because you won't be able to look at me without wanting to jump me Mary." with a cocky smile on his face.

Rory just smiled at him and whispered, "In your dreams Dugrey."

"Every night Mare. Every single night." _And it's only going to get worse with me living here._

AN: Ok I hope you liked this… I finally moved him in, just like I had always planned too… read and review…


	19. What More Could I Possibly Want?

Summary: What if Tristin had never left Chilton?

Disclaimer: Ok, so once again I must say that I don't own Gilmore Girls. I wish I did, believe me I really wish I did, because then nobody could say that I'm pathetic because I'm obsessed with Gilmore Girls…

Chapter Nineteen: What More Could I Possibly Want?

Luke was downstairs refinishing the bookcase when Rory came bouncing down the stairs. "Whatcha doing?"

"Refinishing this bookcase."

"Why?"

"Because It's going in the guest room."

"My mom has a bunch of stuff like that planned huh?"

"Yeah. It just seems a little unnecessary since he still hasn't agreed to move in here."

"Well that's where you're wrong. Because he has agreed to move in here until his parents come home."

"Well that will certainly make Lorelai happy, but what about you? Are you really ok with this?"

"Yeah, of course. I'm the one who made the first offer. I want him here."

"I just don't want to see you get hurt again Rory."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Rory asked confused

"Rory I see the way you two look at each other."

"Luke no offense but you're crazy. There is nothing going on between Tristin and me." Rory said and then walked into the kitchen

Tristin walked in right after Rory left and looked over at Luke. "What are you doing?"

"Refinishing your new bookcase." Luke said gruffly

"Do you want some help?"

"Do you know how to refinish a bookcase?"

"No, but I could learn." Tristin said genuinely

"Fine. Come here." Luke said. Luke began explaining to Tristin what to do and how to do it. They had been working for about ten minutes when Luke stopped and looked over at Tristin. "If you hurt her I'll kill you."

Tristin knew that Luke was talking about Rory and that he was just being the protective father that he felt he was to Rory. He was going to tell him the same thing that he had been telling people all week, that there was nothing going on between him and Rory but instead he just nodded and said "Yes sir, I understand."

"Good, as long as we have an understanding."

xoxo

Lorelai was sitting in a coffee shop in Hartford trying to wind down from an extensive shopping day. She had been in two different bookstores, finally finding all the books she had wanted to get. She had purchased every book that Franz Kafka had ever written plus a few others that the guy at the store recommended. She had also picked up a few books for Rory. Then she had went to a few different linen stores and picked up all the new sheets and a new down comforter for Tristin's room plus some dark blue curtains to contrast with the bright blue walls. Now she was sitting in the coffee shop enjoying her White Chocolate Mocha Expresso and relaxing. She never even saw Emily Gilmore walk over to the table before it was too late. "Lorelai. I thought that was you."

Lorelai cringed inwardly and looked up. "Mom, hi."

Emily looked down at the piles of bags Lorelai had. "It looks like you've been doing quite a lot of shopping today."

"Yeah. I did." Lorelai said not really wanting to get into a conversation with Emily

"What did you buy?" Emily inquired

"A little of this and that."

"Linens and Things and Barnes and Noble? Not really what I expected."

"Really and what would you have expected Mom?"

"Oh I don't know, some expensive shoe store. I know how fond you are of Jimmy Choo's"

"Well they are great shoes."

"What did you buy?"

"I bought some books for Rory and some new sheets, a comforter and some new curtains Mom."

"Do you still have some shopping to do?"

"No, why?"

"Well I was going to tag along with you…"

"I'm about to head back to Star Hollow as soon as this coffee is gone."

"Splendid I'll go with you."

"Great." Lorelai said rolling her eyes and gulping down her coffee. _This isn't going to end well._

xoxo

Lorelai walked in the front door and saw that there was no one in the living room. "Hey! I'm back" Lorelai called out

"In the kitchen." Came a masculine voice from the kitchen

"There's a man in your kitchen! Did you know there was a man in your kitchen?" Emily said in a hushed tone.

"Yeah, he came with the house. I've been trying to get rid of him for years but I can't." Lorelai said jokingly then looked back at Emily who looked uncertain, "Relax Mom it's just Luke."

"Well, what is he doing here?"

"He was just helping me with some construction work."

"Well why didn't you hire a contractor?"

"All he did was refinish a bookcase and help me and Rory paint a room Mom. I didn't need a contractor." Lorelai said annoyed and walked towards the kitchen with Emily close behind.

Lorelai looked at Luke, who was at her stove cooking. "You know I think that's the first time that thing has been used as something other than a storage facility in years." She told him smiling, "Where's everyone else?"

"Jess is upstairs in "the blue room" …"

"The Blue Room?" Emily asked

"Yes, Rory named it." And then as an afterthought added, "Hello Mrs. Gilmore, I didn't realize you were there. How have you been."

"I'm fine, Luke isn't it?"

"Yes ma'am."

Lorelai watched Emily look down at Luke for a few more moments before she decided to step in. "And everyone else? Where are they?"

Luke wasn't sure if Tristin was supposed to be in Rory's room so he just pointed at the semi-closed door leading into Rory's room. "He decided to accept your offer." Luke told her quietly

Lorelai smiled instantly. "That's great. I'm just going to go take a look at the room and then I'm going to put the bookcase back in there and finish the rest of the room. Keep them down here. I want to surprise him." Luke nodded and then looked over at Emily as if to say _You aren't leaving her down here with me are you?_ And Lorelai smiled. "Mom, why don't you come look at what we're now apparently calling the blue room. Grab that bag please." Lorelai asked pointing at the Linen's and Things bag.

Emily grabbed the bag and headed towards the stairs. When the two of them got to the room she saw Jess just standing in the middle of the room. "Hey what are you doing?" Lorelai asked

"It's peaceful in here. The blue is calming."

"Well, it was nice of you to put the bed back together? Did you do that all by yourself?"

"No, they helped me while Rory stood over by the door and laughed at the sight of it taking three men to put a bed together."

"That sounds like Rory. Could you go downstairs and bring the bookcase back up here and then Luke was in the kitchen cooking something I'm guessing it's dinner."

"Yeah, it is getting kinda close to dinner time isn't It. I didn't notice that much time had gone by. I'll just go get that bookcase." Jess said realizing how uncomfortable he was in front of Lorelai and some lady he didn't know.

Lorelai looked over at Emily who hadn't said a word since she came in the room. "Well Mom, what do you think?"

"It's very blue. Who's the young man?"

"Oh, I didn't even introduce you. That's Jess, he's Luke's nephew." Just then Jess came in with the bookcase.

"Where do you want it Lorelai?"Jess asked

"Just put it over there." Lorelai said pointing at where the bookcase used to be. "Jess this is my mom Emily Gilmore, Mom Jess Mariano."

"It's nice to meet you Mrs. Gilmore." Jess said holding out his hand to shake hers.

Emily nodded politely and shook his hand making Jess feel a bit out of place. "I'm going to go get something to eat. I'll see you later." Jess said before walking out quickly

Lorelai stood there shaking her head. She wanted to say something so bad but decided that she didn't want to fight at the moment. So instead she walked over to Emily and took the bag from her. She opened the sheets and pillow cases and began making the bed. As Lorelai was putting the blue sheets and pillow cases on the bed Emily scoffed. "What is it mother?" Lorelai asked irritated

"It's just a lot of blue."

Lorelai had almost said _Well, he likes blue_, but then she thought better of it and just responded with, "Blue is a great color, very calming." Lorelai said mimicking Jess

Then Lorelai pulled out the bag that was containing the new down comforter and finished making the bed. Then she hung the curtains. She walked over to where she had set the books and began placing them on the book case. She stood back and looked at the room smiling inwardly when the visual of Luke, Jess and Tristin putting furniture back in here and Rory just standing at the door watching.

"That's a lot of Kafka. Doesn't Rory already have this book?"

"Yes." Lorelai said before walking out with Emily following her. She went downstairs and walked back into the kitchen where Luke and Jess were sitting. She looked over at Luke and said, "Coffee."

Luke handed her a cup of coffee and looked at Emily, "Can I get you anything?"

"Water is fine." Emily said rudely

"Rory still in her room."

"Yeah, they're still in there." Luke said

"They're! Who's in there with Rory?" Emily said looking at Lorelai.

Lorelai ignored Emily and walked into Rory's room. "I'm home kiddo." Lorelai said throwing herself on Rory's bed next to Rory. She looked over at Tristin who was sitting at Rory's desk and smiled, "So I hear you finally caved and are now a resident of our little Stars Hollow abode."

"Thank you so much Lorelai." Tristin said genuinely

"No problem. You want to see your room. I just put the finishing touches in it."

"Sure." Tristin and Rory jumped up and Lorelai stopped them in front of the door.

"I have to warn you."

"Of what?"

"Emily's is out there."

"What! Why?" Rory asked

"She saw me and the mall and decided that she was coming home with me. Anyway she knows nothing about this offer us Gilmore's have made you Tristin. She might not take it well, so when we ignore her a lot don't be surprised. Now come on you two." Lorelai said before moving to open the door.

Rory and Tristin walked out and smiled at Luke who handed Rory a cup of coffee. "Thanks Luke." And then Tristin a cup of coffee, "Thank you Luke."

"Hey grandma." Rory said before walking out with Tristin right on her tail to go see his room.

"There was a boy in Rory's room! Lorelai did you know there was a boy in Rory's room?"

"Nope, I just came out of there with them and I didn't see him at all. He must have had one of those invisibility cloaks on. Damn kids. Excuse me." Lorelai said walking out to follow Rory and Tristin. She was almost to the staircase when she heard Luke.

"We're going to go ok Lorelai, I left you and Rory and Tristin some burgers in the fridge. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Ok, thanks for helping me today. You too Jess."

"Your welcome."

And with that Luke and Jess were gone so Lorelai started back up the stairs. She walked into Tristin's room and saw him standing there in awe. "What do you think?"

"It's perfect. It's like looking into Rory's eyes." He said before walking over to the bookcase. "And this is full of Kafka. Lorelai this is amazing. Thank you so much." Tristin said enthusiastically

"So it's good enough?"

"Blue walls, Franz Kafka, and no touch of the Dugrey family. What more could I possiblywant?"

"Good I'm glad you like it."

"Lorelai what is this boy going on about?" Emily persisted from the doorway

Lorelai looked over at Rory who looked at Tristin frantically then composed herself and decided to take charge. "You see grandma, Tristin is going to be staying with us for a while."

"Why?"

"His parents are out of town and we didn't want him to stay at home all by himself so we offered to let him stay here, since we have a guest room."

"I see." Emily said walking out of the room and down the stairs. Lorelai went after her.

"Mom."

"She's going to get pregnant."

"What!"

"You move a teenage boy in here who is obviously close to Rory, I've been here for a little more than an hour Lorelai and even I see the way they look at each other. She's going to get pregnant."

"No she's not, and I'm not doing anything wrong here Mother. He's a nice kid whose parents just abandoned him after he got into a little bit of trouble and I offered him a place to live until they come back. There is nothing wrong with what I'm doing." Lorelai said indignantly

"If you really believed that you would have told me about it last night." Emily said before walking out of the house and slamming the door behind her.

AN: Ok, so there wasn't much action in this chapter so I guess it's really just a filler. It would have been longer but I wanted to post it this morning so… this is what you get. Read and Review…


	20. The Easiest Thing I've Ever Done

Summary: What if Tristin had never left Chilton?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with Gilmore Girls.

Chapter Twenty: The Easiest Thing I've Ever Done

Lorelai turned around and walked away from the empty space Emily had been occupying. She wasn't stupid, she knew bringing Tristin in here was risky, mainly because she knew how he felt about Rory. But she also knew Rory, and she knew that Rory was trustworthy. _Nothing will happen while he was living here_, Lorelai told herself. Rory and Tristin would never put themselves or Lorelai in that kind of uncomfortable position. She walked up the stairs to see Tristin and Rory sitting on his bed going through the pile of books she had just bought. She smiled and walked back downstairs. Soon she knew she'd have to pull Tristin and Rory aside and lay down some rules but that could wait until tomorrow.

Lorelai had been sitting in the living room watching TV for twenty minutes when Rory and Tristin came downstairs. "Hey Mom!" Rory said smiling and sitting next to her on the couch while Tristin sat down in the armchair.

"What do you want?" Lorelai asked curiously

"What makes you think she wants something?" Tristin asked

Lorelai smiled. "She has her favor face on."

"I don't want anything. I just came in to tell you that we were going into Hartford to get some of Tristin's stuff and ask if you wanted us to pick up anything on our way back.

Lorelai smiled. She was about to suggest they pack up all his stuff tomorrow but looked at the clock and realized it was only seven. "No, I'm good, I don't need anything. Try to be back by midnight, one at the latest."

"We're not doing anything but packing Mom, and it won't take that long. We weren't planning on packing his whole room tonight, just some overnight stuff."

"Well that seems like a waste of time. Pack the whole room tonight and then you won't have to go back tomorrow. Then we'll all sleep in and get up and have a late brunch with Sookie." Lorelai said. "Then I'll go shoe shopping." Lorelai added more for herself than them.

"OK, do we have any boxes."

Lorelai thought for a minute before realizing they didn't have any. "Hold on." Lorelai told them before pulling out her phone and dialing a number.

_"Hey. I need boxes."_

_"What do you mean who is this? It's Lorelai, who else would be calling you for boxes?"_

_"Do you have any boxes?"_

_"Cardboard boxes Luke, what other kind of boxes could I possibly need? It's not like I'm Buffy the vampire slayer and need a bunch of steel boxes to stop a bunch of body parts from combining and making a huge demon that will kill anything with a drop of humanity in them."_

_"There was a marathon on FX the other day."_

_"Luke!"_

_"Thank you. They'll there in a minute."_

"Ok you two are set." Lorelai said after she hung up the phone "Luke said he has a bunch of them you can have."

"Poor Luke." Rory said to Tristin who just laughed. "By Mom." Rory told her while dragging Tristin out the door.

Tristin smiled at Rory. "You do know your mom is completely insane right?" he told her as he opened up her car door

"Yeah, but I wouldn't want her any other way." Rory said before he shut her door and walked around to the driver's side.

He got in and put his keys in the ignition and started the car. But instead of putting the car in reverse he left it in park. They sat in silence for a full minute before Tristin reached over and put his hand on Rory's, causing her to look at him.

"What?"

"You're sure this ok?"

"You moving in?" she asked. He nodded and she said "Yes. If it wasn't ok with me I would have never offered it to you would I?"

"But you're sure? I mean like one hundred and ten percent sure?"

"It was my idea Tristin, now drive." Rory said trying to reassure him. When he didn't put the car in reverse she looked over at him again.

"Rory." He said unsure

"Tristin look at me." when he did she resumed talking "I want you to move in with me. I'm not your parents, never doubt for a second that I want you here with me because I do."

Tristin tore his eyes away from hers and put the car in reverse. He backed out the driveway and didn't say a word.

xoxo

They pulled into the Dugrey driveway and Tristin punched in his security code, Rory's birthday, into the security system. The gates swung open allowing them entrance into the giant house Tristin's family called home. When the house came into view Tristin saw Rory's eyes widen. "I forgot you had never seen my house." He said with a light chuckle as he parked the car.

"Its huge." Rory said her voice full of awe

Tristin smiled and got out of the car and before Rory even noticed he had moved, he was opening her door for her again. She looked at him funny and he responded with "What?"

"It's just that you're being very polite today. I'm not used to this Tristin, I'm used to the one that would have made me open my own door, carry all the boxes into the house and not really cared if I got lost because he walked away to fast to show me where I was going."

Tristin just smirked. _I was never that guy, not when it came to you Rory_ Tristin almost said but instead said "Come on." And started pulling boxes out of the back of the car.

Rory grabbed the rest of the boxes and followed him in the house.

xoxo

They entered Tristin's room and threw the boxes on his bed. "So this is your room." Rory said after looking around for a minute or two

"Yeah, this is my room." Tristin said turning around to look at her. "What are you surprised or something?"

"It's just not what I expected. It's too neat."

"I'm not a slob Mary."

"Obviously not. Ok where do you want to start?" she asked opening a box

Tristin looked around the room for a second before turning back to her. "You can box up all the CD's and DVD's, and my laptop." He said pointing to places in the room. "I'll pack up all the clothes. That'll take the longest."

Rory nodded and began boxing up his stuff. An hour later Rory had boxed everything he had asked her to including all the stuff in his desk. She looked over at Tristin and he was putting the last bit of clothes into a box. "Are you alright with all this?"

Tristin was confused. He wasn't entirely sure what she meant. "What do you mean?"

"Is this hard for you?"

"Moving out of my parents house AKA Hell?"

"Yeah."

Tristin shook his head. "Not at all."

Rory looked amazed. "But they're your family?"

"These people have never been my family Mary. I honestly can't even remember the last time any of them told me they loved me."

"Tristin I'm sure they love you."

"Look Rory, living in this house is the hardest thing I've ever done. I literally had to force myself to come home after school everyday. Why do you think I acted out so much at the beginning of the year. I was miserable here. The only person in this family that gives a damn about me is my grandfather and he's in and out of the hospital too often to really help me. So, you have to understand that this isn't hard at all. Moving out of this house is the easiest thing I've ever done. This isn't home Rory. It never was. Being in your home feels more like home to me than this place ever did or ever will. So please just help me finish packing my stuff so that me and you can both go home." Tristin told her. He had started out with a strong forceful and slightly annoyed voice but by the time he was done there were tears welling in his eyes and his voice appeared weak and barely above a whisper.

Rory didn't say a word. She did the only thing she could think of. She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to her. At first he pulled himself back from her slightly unsure of what to do, mainly because he was shocked. He hadn't expected this, but immediately he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her as close to him as he could get her. They stood there like that tight in each other's embrace for what seemed like an eternity while they were hugging but when she pulled back in Tristin's eyes it was only a few short seconds and not nearly long enough.

She didn't know why she had done that, but she thought that he had needed it. She just hadn't expected how it had made her feel. The second his arms wrapped around her and pulled her flush against his chest tingles shot up and down her spine. The second she caught herself realizing that she never wanted this sensation to end she forced herself to pull away. They finished packing up his room around eleven. It took them about fifteen minutes to move all the boxes from his room to the car and by eleven thirty they were back on their way to Star's Hollow.

xoxo

They got home around midnight and brought in all the boxes. Both too exhausted to unpack them tonight, decided to do it while Lorelai was shoe shopping. Rory told him goodnight and went to bed.

She laid down in her bed and closed her eyes. She tried to force herself to fall asleep but she just couldn't. She pulled out a book and began reading hoping that eventually she would tire and her eyes would drift closed, but that never happened. An hour later she was still wide awake. She threw her robe on and walked up the stairs. She had planned on going in her mom's room but saw that Tristin's light was still on. She gently knocked on the door and Tristin opened it immediately. "That was fast."

"I was right by the door. What's wrong?"

"I couldn't sleep." Rory admitted. The she looked around the room and notice he had started to unpack. "I guess you couldn't sleep either huh?"

"Nope. I tried. I was just laying there with my eyes closed and said you know what Dugrey there are better things you could be doing right now."

"Like unpacking." Rory suggested

"Exactly. So then I got up and have been quietly unpacking since."

"Do you mind if I sit in here for a while?" Rory asked him while sitting down on his bed and making herself comfortable

"Not at all Mary." Tristin said smiling. He began unpacking again and then just started laughing.

"What is so funny?"

"I finally got you in my bed." He said while laughing

"Funny Dugrey. Watch me not help you unpack either." Rory said rolling her eyes

Tristin went back to unpacking and putting clothes in the dresser and the closet when he looked back over at Rory she was sound asleep in his bed. He walked over to her and gently pulled the covers over her sleeping body and turned off the light. He quietly walked to the linen closet and pulled out a pillow and blanket and went downstairs. He laid down on the couch and within seconds he was asleep, dreaming of Rory.

AN: Ok so, kind of cheesy I know, but I think I like the way this chapter turned out… Read and Review…


	21. Not A Chapter I'm So Sorry

AN: Ok so I know that I don't normally do this, just post Authors Notes but this one I felt was necessary. I'm taking a short hiatus from this story. My best friend is graduating this week and I won't have time to write. Normally I wouldn't have even told you this I would have just taken a break but I've been getting so much response for this story lately and felt it was only right to let you know what was taking me so long. I'll start writing again probably around the beginning of June… if I get the chance I might write a few short chapters and post them, but that's it. Thank you for all your support. Your reviews keep me going and I love the complements, now if only I could have this much creativity when it comes to stories that don't need disclaimers I could fulfill that dream I've always had of being a professional writer… Have a great Memorial Day everyone!

Becky


	22. Pancakes

Summary: What if Tristin had never left Chilton?

Disclaimer: As most people should know by now I don't own Gilmore Girls or anything that is affiliated with the show.

Chapter Twenty One: Pancakes

Rory's eyes slowly drifted open. When her eyes met the blue of Tristin's walls she bolted upright. She glanced beside her, looking for Tristin. When she didn't find him she got up and walked downstairs. As she walked down the stairs Tristin's sleeping form from the couch grabbed her attention. She smiled at him and leaned down trying to decide if she wanted to wake him. Deciding that she did she whispered, "Tristin." When he didn't respond she sat down on the floor between the coffee table and the couch and spoke a little louder. "Tristin." When he still didn't respond she decided to shake him.

Tristin had been dreaming of Rory when he felt himself shaking. The gentle sound of Rory's voice was filtering into his ears. He wasn't sure if the voice he heard was the real Rory or the dream Rory until he felt the shaking. He opened his eyes suddenly and grabbed her, yanking her down on top of him, startling her. "Good lord Mary, you think you could quit shaking me?" Tristin asked smiling at her. He was still holding her on top of him and he could feel the breath in her throat catch and her heart start beating faster than normal.

Rory couldn't make a coherent sentence in her head. She was lying on top of Tristin and she could feel a blush creeping up her face. She wasn't sure why he was causing this kind of reaction in her but she didn't like it. She jerked away from him and stood up, causing the cocky smile on his face to falter for a moment. "What are you doing down here?" Rory asked with her voice still a little shaky from the lack of breath lying on Tristin had created

"You fell asleep in my bed last night Mare. I'm sure you remember that. It was the bright blue room you woke up in." Tristin said picking up his legs so that she could sit on the couch.

Rory smiled at him and sat down next to him on the couch. "You should have woken me up. You shouldn't have had to sleep out here on the couch."

"It was fine. This couch is actually really comfortable." Tristin said rubbing his eyes.

"But I have a bed. I should have slept in it last night, not yours. You should have been able to spend your first night as a real resident of my home and Stars Hollow in a real bed, not on the couch." Rory babbled

Tristin put a finger on her lips to stop her rambling. "Honestly Rory. I didn't mind sleeping on the couch. You were having trouble sleeping and when you fell asleep you looked so peaceful and comfortable that I couldn't force myself to move you. So then I covered you up and finished unpacking my stuff. Then I came down here and fell asleep. It was fine. I slept great," Tristin said removing his finger from her lips, "that is until I was awakened by an earthquake better known as Lorelai Leigh Gilmore the third." Tristin added playfully

Rory blushed slightly, ignoring the feeling of cold that had come over her the second he removed his finger. "I'm sorry. I tried calling your name." She said lamely

"So that was you! I thought it was the dream Rory I heard calling me." Tristin joked

"You weren't dreaming of me Tristin." Rory said blushing even more than before

"How do you know I wasn't dreaming of you?" Tristin countered

"Because you weren't."

"Ok, fine I wasn't," Tristin lied. Then deciding that a subject change had become necessary he looked over at the clock, which read seven thirty am. "What are you doing awake? It's only seven thirty."

"I know. I woke up and now I'm wide awake. You want to go get some breakfast?"

Tristin smiled. "Yeah, I'm wide awake now too, thanks to you."

"Shut up and go get dressed Dugrey!" Rory said pretending to be offended

xxxxxx

Tristin headed up the stairs and walked into his room. He was right when he said staring at the walls where like staring into Rory's eyes. He pulled on a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt then walked over to his bed where Rory had been sleeping. He reached over to pull the comforter back in place and then picked up the pillows Rory had been sleeping on. The smell of Rory's shampoo wafted into his nose and he smiled. He could think of no better way than to spend his first night here. Asleep on the couch while Rory covered his bed with her scent.

xxxxxx

Rory walked into her room and went directly to her closet. She didn't know what had just happened or why all of a sudden Tristin was causing fluttering bats in her stomach. When his hands clasped around her wrists and yanked her into his lap she couldn't help but notice the extreme amount of electricity that shot through her. She couldn't even come close to remembering the last time she actually felt the sparks between her and Dean but with Tristin they were constantly in her face. _Maybe Dean really did have a reason to be concerned,_ Rory thought to herself as she finished getting dressed.

xxxxxx

Tristin walked back downstairs and into the living room. When he didn't see Rory he headed towards her room but stopped in the kitchen when he saw Rory standing in front of the coffee pot staring at it. "Mary what in the hell are you doing?"

"Making coffee." Rory replied her eyes never leaving the coffee pot

"We're going to get coffee Mare." Tristin said

"I want some now."

"There is coffee ten minutes away, two if I drive."

The coffee pot beeped and woke Rory up from her daze. Tristin reached over and handed her a coffee mug. She poured herself a cup and then turned around and looked at him. "You ready to go?"

Tristin looked up at her and smiled. She smiled back at him making it impossible for him to tease her anymore. "Yeah Mare. Let's go. Are we walking or driving?"

Rory looked at him for a second or two and then said, "Walking."

"Ok then." Tristin said

Rory scribbled a note to her mom telling her that they went to Luke's for breakfast and if they weren't home when she woke up to meet them there. She turned towards the front door and started walking out with Tristin following behind her.

xxxxxx

The bell over the diner door jingled alerting everyone in the diner that someone had come in. Luke looked up at the new arrivals before resuming wiping down the counters. Then when his brain realized who it was his head darted back up. "What are you doing here so early?"

"Hey Luke." Rory said

"We woke up and couldn't go back to sleep so we thought that we'd come get some breakfast." Tristin explained

Luke nodded and went behind the counter. He came back with two coffee cups and sat them in front of Rory and Tristin. He had filled Tristin's when he looked over at Rory and noticed that she already had an empty coffee cup beside her. "Please tell me that you didn't bring coffee to get coffee." Luke pleaded

"Nope, I brought an empty coffee cup to get coffee." Rory said smiling coyly

Luke just rolled his eyes and filled her cup. "Pancakes?"

"Pancakes." Rory agreed

"Pancakes?" Luke directed at Tristin

"Pancakes." Tristin agreed causing Rory to laugh and Luke to roll his eyes again.

Ten minutes later Rory and Tristin were both eating their pancakes when the bell over the door jingled again. They both looked up and tried to see who it was but Mrs. Patty was blocking their view. Rory's plate was almost empty so she looked over at Tristin's plate and noticed that he still had most of his pancakes. "Hey Tristin, how pretty do you think I am?"

"You want a real answer to that question Mary?" Tristin asked with a smirk on his face

"Not really. I was really just hoping that you'd go get me some more coffee. Luke won't give me anymore but he'll give you some more because you've only had one cup and I've had three plus the one I had before I got here." Rory said smiling widely at him

"Give me your cup." Tristin said sighing

"No! You have to take yours. He'll know it's my cup and refuse to fill it."

"Fine. I'll be back in a second." Tristin said hopping up

The second Rory was alone she reached over and picked up his plate. She scooped half of his pancakes onto her plate. Then she smiled and put his plate back down. Smiling to herself she began to eat his pancakes. She never noticed the shadow fall over her until it was too late.

"He'll notice you took his food you know."

Rory looked up and her face fell. "I'm sure he will but he won't care."

Dean nodded and sat down in Tristin's chair. "I'm sure he won't. I mean he owes you and Lorelai now right?"

"What are you talking about?"

"He moved in with you didn't he." Dean asked

Rory not noticing that Mrs. Patty was in earshot answered him truthfully. "Yeah he did."

"How is that working out for you?"

"Just fine."

"I bet it's working out perfectly for him."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Rory demanded

"It's just he gave you some sob story about his parents leaving him and got to move in with you. Forcing you to see him constantly. Eventually he'll coerce you into being in love with him and it will work out perfectly for him. He'll get what he always wanted."

"And what's that?"

"You." Dean said standing up. He glanced at the counter and saw Tristin headed in their direction. Before Rory could respond Dean walked away and out of the diner.

Rory was sitting there in a daze when Tristin sat the coffee in front of her. She picked it up and drank it all at one time before setting the mug back down. "Was that?"

"Dean? Yeah, that was Dean."

"What did he say to you?"

"What makes you think he said something to me?"

"Because you're spaced out like crazy here Mary."

"Oh well he didn't say anything." Rory said and began eating her stolen pancakes

"Ok." Tristin said looking down at his pancakes. "Hey!"

"What?"

"Over half of my pancakes are gone!" Tristin exclaimed

"Are they?" Rory asked curiously

"Yes."

"Huh. That's interesting."

"Especially since when I left to get your coffee your plate was empty and now it is covered in pancakes."

"I don't know what you're talking about Dugrey." Rory said laughing

"You're lucky I think you're pretty." Tristin said before digging into what was left of his pancakes and smiling at Rory.

AN: I hope you liked this chapter. Read and Review.


	23. We Were Never Friends

Summary: What if Tristin had never left Chilton?

Disclaimer: Still don't own a thing.

Chapter Twenty Two: We Were Never Friends

After brunch with Sookie, Lorelai, Rory and Tristin walked to Doose's to get some poptarts and other necessary groceries. The second they walked into the store Lorelai was accosted by Taylor.

"Lorelai, I'm glad you're here."

"Why is that Taylor?"

"I wanted to let you know that there is going to be an emergency town meeting tonight at seven."

"Why is that Taylor?"

"Well as a member of the town I thought that you would like to be involved in all town decisions." Taylor told her

"No, I mean why are we having a meeting?"

Taylor was about to say something when there was a loud crash from the back of the store. "I'm sorry I have to handle that. Seven o'clock." Taylor reminded her before he ran off to yell at the new stockboy.

"Well that was weird." Lorelai said to the two teens.

"You know what else is weird?" Tristin asked Lorelai

"What's that?"

"That Mrs. Patty and Babette are staring at me, pointing and gesturing wildly."

Rory and Lorelai looked over at Patty and Babette who stopped gesturing and walked out of the market as soon as they realized they were being watched. Rory looked over at Lorelai and smiled. "Well that was kind of creepy." Rory said

"I agree. Something is going on here." Lorelai said

"Let's just get what we need and then we can go back to the house and enjoy the rest of our Sunday." Rory said placing a 2- liter bottle of coke in the basket.

"Yeah. Let's go home." Tristin said smiling when he said home.

They finished shopping and took their groceries to the check out line. They finished putting the groceries on the counter before they even noticed that they were in Dean's line. "Again we meet Rory." Dean said

"Yeah. Again."

"I think we've seen each other more now since we broke up then we had in the last three months we were dating." Dean said talking to Rory but looking straight at Tristin.

"That's what happens when you live in a town as small as Stars Hollow, Dean." Lorelai said noticing the tension between the three teens

"I guess so Lorelai. I just hope that you two know that if you ever need me to do the odd jobs around the house…"

"Your services aren't needed Dean. If we need something done that Tristin can't handle, I'll call Jess and then if it still doesn't get done, I'll call Luke. There is nothing Luke can't fix." Rory said coldly

"I just don't want our friendship to suffer, Rory. I want us to be friends. Like we used to be."

"We were never friends Dean, you had a hidden agenda from the beginning." Rory said looking at Dean. She looked over at Lorelai "I'll meet you outside." And then walked out of the market.

Lorelai looked at Dean and then at Tristin. She shook her head slightly. "31.45" Dean told her after he finished ringing the groceries up. She took out her wallet and was about to pull the money out when Tristin put his credit card on the counter.

Lorelai looked at him curiously. "My treat. Just do me a favor and check on Rory and I'll meet you guys out there." Tristin said

Lorelai looked unsure for a moment but then put her wallet away and walked out to check on her daughter. When Lorelai was out of sight Dean looked over at Tristin. "Out credit card machines are down."

"All of them?" Tristin asked curiously

"Yes all of them."

"The why is Taylor ringing that lady over there up with her credit card?"

Dean looked over at Taylor and swore under his breath. "Ok fine. My credit card machine is broken." Dean told him lying again

"Ok then." Tristin said taking out his wallet and replacing his credit card with a one hundred dollar bill.

"We don't accept bills that high." Dean lied

"Ok." Tristin said handing him a fifty

"I don't have change for that." Dean lied again

"Then keep it. I don't need the $18.55. Have a nice day." Tristin said walking out of the market leaving Dean extremely angry.

When Tristin got back outside he walked over to Rory and Lorelai. "All set."

AN: Sorry this chapter was so short. This just seemed like a good place to end since I thought it was kinda funny. I promise you all a nice and long new chapter by Friday. Read and review please.


	24. Not the Update I Promised

I know that I promised everyone a rather large update by today… but as I was typing the last page of my newest chapter my hard drive crashed, so I am now trying to rewrite it from memory and there is no way I'll have it done until at least tomorrow and then I have to cooerce my friend (who's computer I am using to post this annoying authors note on) to let me use her computer again and post it… I am sooo sorry….


	25. Town Meeting From Hell

Summary: What if Tristin had never left for military school in North Carolina?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that is affiliated with Gilmore Girls or the Gilmore Girls world. That honor goes to the great Amy Sherman- Palladino. Lucky lady.

Chapter Twenty Three: Town Meeting From Hell

Lorelai, Rory and Tristin walked into Patty's dance studio for the abrupt town meeting Taylor said that they must attend. Lorelai spotted seats next to Luke and grabbed at Rory's hand pulling the two teens along with her to sit down. Taylor and Patty were standing up at the front of the dance studio fighting over what appeared to be the necessity of this emergency town meeting.

"Does anybody know why we're here tonight?" Luke asked gruffly, "I could be over at the diner making money instead I'm going to sit here and listen to Taylor talk about how to stop the deer population from growing or how it's in the town's best interest to put spikes on telephone poles so birds don't land here."

"Not a clue Luke." Lorelai said distracted by the fight Patty and Taylor were having. "I'll be right back." She told them all while getting up and walking over to Taylor.

"What is it Lorelai?" Taylor asked annoyed when Lorelai tapped him on the shoulder.

"Start the damn meeting or we're all leaving." Lorelai said

"Now that language is hardly necessary young lady…" Taylor started

"NOW TAYLOR!" Lorelai yelled walking back to her seat next to Luke

Taylor looked back at Patty and smiled smugly. He walked over to the podium and was about to talk when Patty took the microphone from him and calmly said "People of Stars Hollow, I am so sorry." And then she handed the microphone to Taylor.

Lorelai looked over at Tristin and whispered, "This can't be good."

Tristin eyed her suspiciously before turning to Rory and whispering, "Your mom looks worried about something."

Rory looked over at Lorelai and noticed that he was right. "You're right." She told him. She was about to say something else but was interrupted by Taylor's voice.

"I want to start of tonight discussing the new parking ordinance that has been placed in front of the fine establishment known as Doose's Market." Taylor began

A loud groan was heard throughout the whole studio. "Tell me you didn't call an emergency town meeting to discuss where you can park in front of your grocery store." Gypsy yelled

"Yeah Taylor, I'm tired of hearing about this already." Jackson yelled

"I think it's a great place to start off Taylor. Please do continue." Kirk said

"Kiss ass." Luke mumbled causing Tristin to laugh

"Very well. The current parking ordinance states that no one can park in front of the store…"

"It's not a parking ordinance Taylor. It's called a fire lane. It's so when Jess tried to burn down your store the fire truck can get to it." Luke yelled

"Yes, well your hoodlum nephew better not come within three feet of my store. Anyway. I propose we move the fire lane down about twenty five feet or so, so that parking in available in front of the market." Taylor said

Patty rolled her eyes and said "Fine all in favor of giving Taylor a place to park in front of Doose's and letting the whole town burn down when he gets rid of the fire lane completely?" When no hands raised she added, "Those opposed?" Earning the raising of every hand in the room she looked over at Taylor and smiled. "Proposal denied."

Taylor looked defeated but continued without showing his disappointment. "Ok, the next item of business is the Winter Carnival."

"That's not until next month Taylor." Luke said angrily

"We can still discuss it Lucas." Taylor said

"Those in favor of discussing the winter carnival next month?" Luke yelled earning all but Rory and Lorelai's raised hand.

"You see Rory and Lorelai want to discuss it now." Taylor added

Luke looked annoyed at the two girls and Lorelai smiled. "It's pretty we like the Winter Carnival." She told him

Luke rolled his eyes and looked back up at Taylor." Majority still rules. Why don't you tell us why we're really here. All of this could be discussed next week at the previously scheduled town meeting." Luke yelled to Taylor

Taylor looked over at Ms. Patty who just rolled her eyes. "Very well. It has come to my attention that there is a new member to our Stars Hollow population."

Tristin's head snapped over in Rory's direction and that to Lorelai. Lorelai looked helplessly at Luke. "Make a point Taylor." Luke bellowed glad to step in and defend the Lorelai's honor and decisions.

"We just feel…" Taylor started only to be cut off my Luke again.

"We? We who? Who is this we you speak of?"

"The town Luke. We all just feel that perhaps moving the young man here may not be in the best interest of the town." Taylor stated

"I don't remember agreeing to this." Jackson said loudly, "I personally feel that Lorelai can move whoever she wants into her home."

"Yeah Taylor, I don't ever remember being asked how I felt about this boy moving into Stars Hollow." Gypsy said

"Me either Taylor." Babette said with Morey agreeing with her.

Tristin looked crushed and Lorelai had no idea what to say. She had never expected anything like this from this town. Luke still wanted to defend them but he had no clue how. Rory looked over at Tristin. He was completely silent and hadn't said a word. She reached over and grabbed his hand entwining their fingers. "It's going to be ok. Luke and Mom will handle this. Don't worry." She whispered. Tristin just nodded.

"What's wrong with him living here Taylor? And it better be a good reason because he's not going anywhere." Luke bellowed getting up from his seat and walking towards the podium Taylor was hiding behind.

"It's just that it might give off the wrong impression of the town."

"And what impression is that?"

"That we let two unrelated teenagers live together." Taylor said

Luke just looked at Taylor having no clue where to begin to yell at Taylor. He had just found his angle with Taylor when he heard Rory's voice approaching them. "WHAT IN THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU TAYLOR!"

"Now young lady that kind of language is not necessary." Taylor said as the teenager stood directly in front of him.

"Really because I think it is. You see that guy over there." She said pointing to Tristin, "His name is Tristin, so you can quit referring to him as the boy, or the young man, you can call him Tristin! And just who in the hell do you think you are?"

"Lorelai make your daughter sit down and let me continue my meeting." Taylor said fear in his voice

"I don't think so Taylor. You pissed her off." Lorelai said

"Are you going to answer me?" Rory yelled at Taylor

Taylor looked over at Patty who said "Meeting adjourned." Knowing Taylor didn't want an audience even though she knew no one was going anywhere. They had all been waiting years to see Taylor put into his place.

"I am this town's magistrate young lady. I only care about what is in the best interest of the town."

"And it's in the best interest of Stars Hollow that I force Tristin to leave."

"You're seeing this situation with the eyes of a teenager with a bad case of puppy love young lady. I'm seeing this with grown up eyes."

Tristin's head jerked up at his comment and met eyes with Rory. She looked away and he noticed that she was glaring at Taylor. He got up and started walking over to her and Luke. "Rory…" he started only to be brushed off by her.

"You know I do everything for this town. I pass out fliers for all of your stupid town events. I participate in all of your town events. I play pilgrims at Thanksgiving and elves of whatever you need for Christmas, not to mention all of the other ridiculous town holidays you come up with, and now you try this. Tristin is one of my friends. One of my best friends at that, and I will not have you disrespect him again. He needed help, my mother helped him. This is a permanent arrangement. Get over it, because no one else agrees with you Taylor."

Taylor looked dumbfounded. No one other than Luke had ever really stood up to him like that and he didn't know what to say. He could tell Rory was about to say something else and he braced himself. While awaiting Rory's voice, he heard someone else. "I agree with him."

Rory rolled her eyes. "You know I was actually expecting you to."

"Yeah, well. Then why do you look so surprised?" Dean asked her

"Because contrary to the vibe you are putting out now, I didn't think you were really that much of a jerk Dean!"

"Yeah, well I don't like the guy." Dean said looking smugly at Tristin

Rory was about to defend him again when Tristin stepped in. "You know what I have had just about all I am going to take from you today."

Dean just rolled his eyes. Taylor seeing that Rory's attention was focused on Dean, decided to pick that moment to try to leave, but was stopped but Luke's forceful hand. "You're not going anywhere. When she's done, you're apologizing to Tristin." Luke whispered causing Taylor to sit down.

"And what are you going to do about that accountant."

"Look, I get it. You don't like me. I don't care. You don't want me to live here. Again I don't care. You blame me for Rory leaving you. And still I don't care. There is nothing about you that I care about. The only thing I care about is her." He said pointing at Rory and earning a few awwws from mainly Patty and Babette and causing Rory to blush. "You can be as petty and as bitter as you want and it's not going to affect me any." He then looked at Taylor. "The only way I'm leaving is if she asks me to leave. Are you planning on doing that Rory?"

"Not at all."

"Lorelai?"

"Nope, I think you're handsome. You have to stay and live with me and provide me and my daughter with lots and lots of coffee."

"Thank you. I think." Tristin said smiling, "Now as for the rest of the town, You don't have to like me, it won't hurt my feelings at all. Except for you Luke. Your opinion matters because it matters to the Gilmore women."

"Like I said. He's not going anywhere." Luke said to Taylor

"Must feel good to earn Luke's approval." Dean said bitterly

"Would you get over it!" Rory yelled, "I didn't want our relationship to end with me hating you! That's not what I wanted at all, but you're making it impossible Dean. You're jealous that all this is. You're jealous that I chose my friendship with Tristin over a loveless romance with you. You're jealous that Tristin has earned Luke's approval in two weeks when you've been here almost two years and he still hates you. Just get over it."

"I am not jealous." Dean yelled at her, "Why would I be jealous? You don't mean anything to me anymore. You are just some pathetic girl who woke up one day and decided what you had wasn't good enough anymore. That you wanted someone with more money then your mom and your dad combined, a fancy car, and an Ivy League education. You've turned into one of those stupid girls that I hate, that I feel sorry for. You've a spoiled little brat who always gets what she wants…"

It was obvious that Dean wasn't done with his rant on who Rory had become but tears were falling from her face and Tristin decided that this pause was the perfect moment for his face to come into contact with Dean's face. Dean herked back at the impact and Taylor jumped up in his seat. "That is why the boy shouldn't be here. He's obviously a violent boy."

Lorelai rolled her eyes but also decided that now was a good moment to get her makeshift little family out of the dance studio, before Dean decided that he wanted to fight back. "Shut up Taylor. Dean brought that on himself." She then turned to Tristin who was engulfing Rory in his arms to make sure she was ok. "You ok baby? Nothing he said was true. You know that right?" Lorelai asked her daughter. Rory nodded and felt Tristin pull her closer.

"Why don't you three come back with me and I'll make you some coffee." Luke offered leading the three out of the studio.

"Does that mean you are reopening the diner for the night Luke?" Taylor yelled

"No, we're closed. Private Party." He said

AN: Ok not quite as long as the one I wrote before and not nearly as good as how I planned, but here it is… the town's reaction… read and review…


	26. You Are Not Inferior

Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls. I wish I did but I don't.

Summary: What if Tristin had never left?

Chapter Twenty Four: You Are Not Inferior

Luke walked ahead and opened the door for Lorelai. He held it open for Rory and Tristin to walk through. Tristin started to move towards the door but he felt Rory's delicate fingers wrap around his wrist. He stopped moving and turned around to face her. His eyes met Rory's and both of them locked on hers.

"Are you two coming or what?" Luke asked

"We'll be in in a minute." Rory said softly never breaking eye contact with Tristin

"What?" Luke asked

"In a second." Tristin repeated a little louder, his eyes never leaving Rory

"Ok." Luke said shutting the door behind him

Tristin refused to break eye contact first. Rory had never looked at him this way. Time passed before they even said a word. Rory broke eye contact and shifted hers down to the ground. "You ok Mary?"

Rory shrugged slightly indicating that she was unsure. She still hadn't said a word and he was starting to worry. "Mary, you're scaring me here. What is it?"

"Is he right? I mean about me." Rory asked almost to softly to be heard

"Who?"

"Dean." Rory whispered

"What are you talking about?"

"Do you think that I'm just a pathetic girl who was tired of what she already had? That I'm one of those girls that doesn't think that anyone is good enough for me?" she asked

Tristin stared at her for a long minute before answering her. She looked so delicate and fragile that he wanted to go back and pummel Dean for ever making her feel this way. "God no. You are perfect Rory. You aren't one of those girls who are just waiting around for the trust fund baby to look your way. You are a strong determined woman who knows what she wants. You just found out that it wasn't Dean before he wanted you to. Regardless of what he said tonight he's jealous."

"No, he's mad. He was jealous, but now he's just mad. I mean I have never seen him act like that. He made me feel so inferior."

"And he'll get over it. Because really he has no other alternative. I swear I could kill him for making you feel like this. You are not inferior Rory. You are so far from inferior that the word inferior shouldn't even be in your vocabulary." He said watching Rory blush, "You handled yourself so well tonight Rory. You stuck up for me like no one else has ever done before."

"Well what Taylor was trying to do was wrong."

"I'm glad you feel that way. And the very fact that you think so proves everything that Dean said was wrong. You are a compassionate, caring person and an amazing friend. I've never known anyone like you before." Tristin said leading her into the diner

Rory blushed again. "Thank you."

"It's good that this happened though." He said pulling a chair out for her to sit in next to Lorelai. When noticing the look on her face he amended his statement, "Not the thing with Dean, the thing with the town."

"Why is that?" Rory asked sitting down

"It gives us a taste of what's to come tomorrow when all of Chilton finds out that I'm living with you."

"Oh my God I never even thought about that. Tristin what are we going to tell people? They are just going to assume that we're together…" Rory rambled

"No coffee for Rory, she's already rambling enough as it is. If she keeps up at it she'll end up like you." Luke said pointing to Lorelai

"Please, she needs coffee stat!" Lorelai said smiling then turning back to Rory, "Hun, can you honestly tell me you didn't even think about what Chilton was going to say?"

"I did but I pushed it out of my mind, I didn't want to think about it." Rory admitted

"Look no one really has to know if you don't want them to Rory." Tristin said

"How are we going to swing that?" Rory snapped, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you."

"It's ok. Look the way I see it is we have school tomorrow, we should go home and get some sleep. We'll drive to school in the morning and when the questions come we'll either answer them or ignore them. We know we're not together, your mom and Luke know we're not together and that's what really matters. We're not doing anything wrong and since when do you care what Chilton thinks of you? I don't care what they think. Let the hordes of girls get jealous. It doesn't matter. You and your family took me in when I had no one and I will always be grateful to you."

Rory smiled at Tristin and drank the rest of the coffee in her cup. "Let's go home." She said standing up and reaching out for Tristin's hand. He clasped her hand and they walked out the diner leaving behind a shell shocked Lorelai.

"Are you still not worried about those two getting together?" Luke asked

"Why would I be?" Lorelai said

"That's the second little speech he's spouted out tonight about how wonderful she is, and neither one of us know what he said to her outside."

"Everything's going to be fine Luke."

"Lore, that boy is in love with your daughter." Luke pointed out

"I know that. He has been for a year now."

"And you aren't the least bit concerned that she might end up feeling the same?"

"I know my daughter Luke. Everything is going to be fine."

AN: I know it's short it's really short actually. Next chapter will take place at Chilton. This one was more or less a filler…


	27. I Guess Congratulations Are In Order

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls that honor goes to Amy Sherman Palladino... lucky lady

Summary: What if Tristin never left for military school?

Chapter Twenty Five: I Guess Congratulations Are In Order

The nervous feeling in the pit of Rory's stomach had been brewing all the way to Chilton but now as Tristin was parking his car in the parking lot the pit in her stomach overflowed and she refused to move. Tristin looked over at her and smiled. He could tell she was nervous about how this was going to play out. "Come on Mary, its not like you've never rode to school with me before. This is just like all the other times when I came and picked you up." Tristin said trying to reassure her. He got out of the car and waited for her to get out. When he stood there for a few long moments and she had yet to get out of the car he walked over and opened her door for her. "You know Mary, it will raise quite a good amount of questions if I have to pick you up and throw you over my shoulders to get you into school this morning." Tristin joked

"We agreed that I'd tell Paris right?" Rory said still not moving out of the car

Tristin smiled and squatted next to her by the car. "Yes Rory, you get to tell Paris. Besides we both know that she'll take it better coming from you."

"I doubt that." Rory said frowning

Tristin looked down at his watch and noticed that their classes started in ten minutes. "Come on Mary if you don't get out of the car we're going to be late." he said reaching his hand out to her

Rory rolled her eyes and took his hand. He helped her out of the car and released her hand. They both walked into Chilton slightly nervous.

xxxxxx

Rory didn't get a chance to talk to Paris until after her second class that day. She caught Paris by her locker and walked over to her quickly. "Paris I need to tell you something."

"Are you and Tristin dating?" Paris said her voice showing no emotion

"No."

"Then what is it?"

"He agreed to move in with me until his parents get back."

"Is that all?"

"Yes."

"Ok." Paris said shrugging her shoulders

"Ok?"

"Well what do you want me to say Rory? That I think this is a really bad idea! That you and Tristin are getting a little to close for my own personal liking! That you and Tristin living together is going to quite possibly drive me insane. We're just starting to be friends Rory so forgive me if I don't want to scream at you in the middle of Chilton." Paris screamed

Rory looked flabbergasted. She wasn't sure when they had acquired an audience but they had. "Um... Paris I think you kind of already did." Rory stammered before walking away

Paris shook her head slightly, noticing they hordes of people that were standing there whispering. "Shows Over!" Paris yelled before walking away leaving behind everyone who was talking about her and the new developments between Rory and Tristin.

xxxxxx

Tristin had heard yelling in the hallway and was headed in that direction to see what was going on when Rory slammed around the corner straight into him. She jerked back immediately and he could tell that she had been crying. "Rory my god are you ok? What happened?" he asked wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to him.

"Let's just say that Paris didn't take it to well." Rory said quietly while clinging to Tristin, "She was really upset and screamed at me in the middle of the hallway. People were just standing there watching us, it was so embarrassing."

Tristin gently rubbed Rory's back trying to comfort her. "It's going to be ok Mary. You'll see."

"The whole school is going to talking about us living together by the end of next period." Rory said looking straight into Tristin's eyes

"I promise that it will all be ok. We'll work it out and we'll get through it. You shouldn't let Paris get to you, she's jealous. You know that." Tristin said wiping tears from her face

"I know but..."

"I'm going to talk to her. Go to class and meet me at your locker before lunch ok?"

"Talking to Paris could make it worse you know."

"It won't. I'll see you at lunch." Tristin said before walking away

xxxxxx

Tristin had been looking for Paris since he left Rory earlier. Since they both had a free period he had thought it would have been easy to find her but he had looked everywhere and she was nowhere to be found. She wasn't in the library like she normally was and she wasn't in the Franklin office either. He had all but given up hope of finding her when he walked out the door and saw her sitting underneath a large oak tree.

"I was wondering when you'd find me." Paris said her voice sounding tight and rehearsed

"Well I've been looking for you for the last twenty minutes Paris."

"I know. I've been avoiding you."

"You really hurt her you know."

"I know."

"She doesn't deserve that from you. She's gone out of her way to make friends with you this year. She took everything you dished out last year and she still wanted to be friends with you. Hell she still wants to be friends with you. The whole way to school this morning she was worried about what you were going to say."

"I know."

"All I want to know is what happened to the Paris that encouraged me to let Rory know how I felt about her. That was happy that we were getting closer. The Paris who said she was over me and wanted me to be happy. Where's that girl?"

"She's regressing. I know that I said I was over you, and I am. I don't want to be with you like that, but I never actually thought that she would feel the same way about you that you do her."

"And who says she does."

"It's obvious."

"Whatever you say Geller but I don't think so."

"Sure Dugrey."

"I also think that you owe Rory an apology."

"I was planning on it at lunch. I really am sorry that I reacted the way I did."

xxxxxx

Rory met Tristin by her locker before lunch just like he had requested. The butterflies that had been fluttering constantly in her stomach at the beginning of the day were back full force now as the idea of entering a cafeteria full of people who had heard Paris and Rory's hallway fight entered her head. She knew that she had no real reason to be nervous; that there was nothing wrong with Tristin staying with her but she also hated the idea of being the center of attention. She heard a voice behind her and turned around.

"I'm really sorry Rory. I don't know what got into me earlier. I guess I just regressed back to the time when I thought you were taking everything from me, including Tristin. I freaked and I hope you can forgive me." Paris said

"It's not a problem Paris really. I knew that you were going to take it badly." Rory said

xxxxxx

Tristin knew that Rory was waiting on him by her locker and he was trying to get to her when he felt a hand grab onto his shoulder. A sense of familiarity washed over him and he didn't have to turn around to know who it was. "Hello Summer."

"Hi Tristin. You know it's been awhile since we've gone out." Summer cooed

"I know."

"Why is that?"

"You broke up with me Summer." Tristin reminded her

"And why would I do that?"

"You wanted to be the female equivalent of me, and I had a problem with that remember."

"Wrong. I broke up with you because you spent the whole dance watching Rory walk around." Summer said

"No I didn't."

"You thought I didn't notice but I did. I didn't start running off with other guys until after she got there. The second she walked through the door and you saw her I didn't exist."

"What is the point in this Summer? I have somewhere to be." Tristin asked

"Meeting Rory?"

"Yes as a matter of a fact I am."

"I hear you two are living together."

"Ok."

"Is it true?"

"Why does it matter?"

"I'm hurt you act like I meant nothing to you."

"You did mean nothing to me." Tristin said before walking away leaving a stunned Summer behind

xxxxxx

Tristin walked over to Rory's locker and saw her and Paris smiling. "I see you two made up." he said smiling at Rory and Paris

"We did. Paris came begging me for forgiveness."

"I didn't beg you for a thing Gilmore." Paris said bitingly

"You're late." Rory said looking straight at Tristin

"Got sidetracked. I'm sorry."

"So why was I meeting you here again?"

"Well I figured that since you expressed a concern with walking into the cafeteria and having every girl stare at you, that I wouldn't let you do it alone."

"And you think they won't look at her even more if she walks in with you?" Paris said

"No, I know they will but at least she won't have to do it alone." Tristin said

"So then let's go." Paris said grabbing Rory by the arm and pulling her towards the cafeteria.

Once they got in front of the doors Rory stopped dead in her tracks. "This is a bad very bad idea."

Tristin saw the reluctance in her eyes and reached out taking her hand. He squeezed it reassuringly. "Come on Mary. We took on Luke, we took on Taylor and Stars Hollow, we took on Dean, I think we can take a few upset Chiltonites."

"You're right. Ok let's do this." Rory said taking a deep breath and walking through the doors

The entire cafeteria that Rory had just heard roaring through the doors became deadly quiet the second they came into view. Paris noticed Rory pale slightly and led her to a table. "Don't worry about it. You've seen this before. It happened the first time you came in on crutches with Tristin carrying your stuff. Don't let this get to you." Paris said

"Yeah Mare. Ignore them." Tristin said sitting down across from her

"I just have one question."

"What's that?"

"Why is Summer glaring at me like that?"

xxxxxx

Tristin was waiting for Rory by her locker at the end of the day so that they could drive back to Stars Hollow. Paris had stopped by on her way out to let him know that Rory and her teacher were talking about one of her papers and that she'd be a little late. He heard footsteps behind him but recognized them to be too heavy for Rory. He spun around to see Duncan and Bowman.

"I guess congratulations are in order Dugrey." Duncan said

"What are you talking about?"

"You finally nailed the Mary." Bowman said smirking

AN: This isn't where I had initially intended to end the chapter but oh well... read and review.


	28. Who Do You Think You Are

Disclaimer: Still don't own the show.

Summary: What if Tristin never left Chilton?

Chapter Twenty Six: Who Do You Think You Are?

Tristin's eyes widened. "And what makes you think that?"

Bowman grinned. "Please man, she's obviously your new flavor of the week. She's following you around and you're both watching each other like hawks."

"Plus, you're driving her to and from school. You must be getting something out of this deal." Duncan added

"So, we figure you finally nailed the Mary." Bowman said smiling

"And she must have been damn good, if she's got you wrapped around her fingers like she does. You think I can have a go at her when you're done with her?" Duncan asked

Tristin rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe he had ever been friends with these guys. "For your own safety Duncan I suggest you stay the hell away from Rory Gilmore."

"Possessive over the new Ms. Magdalene? That's not like you Dugrey."

"I'm not possessive over Ms. Magdalene. I'm possessive over Mary. I have not slept with Rory Gilmore." Tristin said through gritted teeth

"Sure Dugrey. I get it the lady wants discretion. I understand, especially given how much she protested…"

"Enough. Shut up Duncan. I didn't have sex with Rory." Tristin yelled

"So this is about actual emotion? Has our little Tristin fallen for the doe eyed Mary?"

"Back off." Tristin said

"Are you in love with her? Is that what this about?" a voice from behind said

"How I feel about Rory has absolutely nothing to do with anything Duncan or Bowman just said."

"You didn't answer my question Tristin."

"What do you want me to say Summer?"

"Nothing. Tristin don't say a word." Summer said walking off.

Tristin turned back to Duncan and Bowman who were staring at him expectantly. "Leave Rory alone." And then he walked off.

xxxxxx

Summer was seething. She had never been angrier in her life. It wasn't that she actually cared about Tristin. She didn't and she knew it. This was all about pride. She couldn't believe that Tristin chose a pathetic excuse for a girl like Rory Gilmore over the sex kitten she was. And to make matters worse, he was in love with her. Summer walked up to a group of girls and starting talking to them. They were going on and on about how gorgeous Tristin was and how no one saw him without Rory anymore. Summer decided to throw her two cents in and added, "He slept with her."

"No?" gasped a blonde girl

"Yup. I heard him talking about it with Duncan and Bowman. He'll be through with her in a week. Then it will be like Rory who?"

"That's so wrong." Some girl said

"Actually I think it's rather fitting." Summer said walking off smiling. She knew that this rumor would be all over the school by tomorrow.

xxxxxx

The next day Rory walked into her Spanish class and noticed that the entire room fell into a hush the second she walked into the room. She shrugged it off as residual effects of the gossip surrounding her and Tristin yesterday. She was fully prepared to ignore it all until she heard Cissy say, "I can't believe she finally broke down and slept with him. I mean he was after her all year last year and she was all no Tristin, I hate you Tristin, but now she's all like of course I'll sleep with you Tristin."

Rory's eyes widened and she dropped her heavy Spanish book on the floor. It made a loud clunk and the teacher looked up. "Ms. Gilmore is everything ok?"

"Yes, everything is fine ma'am, can I please use the bathroom pass?"

"Of course." The teacher said handing it over "Try to be back before class starts ok."

"Yes ma'am." Rory said walking out of the classroom

Rory saw Tristin standing in front of his locker and went straight to him. He was standing next to a bunch a guys who looked like they were waiting for an answer. Tristin was running his hands through his hair, which Rory now knew was something he did when he was extremely frustrated. She walked over and put her hand on his shoulder. "I have to talk to you."

Tristin didn't say a word just shut his locker and placed his hand in the small of her back leading her into an empty classroom. The last thing both of them heard before the door was shut was, "Already has him on a leash."

xxxxxx

Rory was pacing around in front of him and Tristin was getting dizzy just watching her. "Mary. Stop pacing you are making me dizzy."

Rory stopped and looked him straight in the eyes. "Do you know what people are saying about me!" she snapped

Tristin looked at her and saw tears in her eyes. He walked over and gently cupped her face with his hands and softly brushed his thumbs over her eyes, wiping away her tears. "I do. And I'll fix it. I swear to you."

"Why does all of Chilton think I'm sleeping with you Tristin?" Rory said trying to sound forceful but only sounding defeated

"I don't know but I'll find out ok. I'm going to fix it." Tristin repeated

Rory sighed and pulled from his grasp. "I have to go back to Spanish class."

"Yeah I have a class too. I'll see you at lunch?"

"I'm eating in the library. Yesterday the whole school stared at me when they thought I was dating you, I'm not going in there where they all think that I slept with you."

"Hiding out isn't going to help you know."

"It will make me feel better though."

Tristin nodded and watched her walk out of the empty classroom. He gathered his breath and walked back out a few minutes after her, knowing that they couldn't walk out together because that would just fuel the fire.

xxxxxx

"Summer!"

"Hey Paris." Summer said smiling

"Who do you think you are!"

"What do you mean?"

"You started the rumor. Cissy said that you told her and a bunch of other girls that Tristin and Rory are sleeping together. So again I ask who in the hell do you think you are!"

"Paris that's crazy. I didn't say a word." Summer said backing away from Paris looking frightened

"You know who I think you are. I think you are a pathetic girl who Tristin turned down because of Rory. I think that you and Tristin broke up because of Rory and you think that you can get rid of Rory by spreading rumors about her and Tristin. News flash! Her and Tristin aren't together and he still doesn't want you. Get over it! Move on."

"You have room to talk Gellar. You hated Gilmore all year last year because Tristin was interested in her. Now you wanna play the martyr and pretend that Rory Gilmore is your new best friend and that you never disliked her."

"That was before I knew Rory."

"Whatever. And how do you know it's just a rumor anyway. Maybe our little "Mary" has become a "Magdalene." Maybe her and Tristin are going at it like rabbits day in and day out. I hear they are living together…" Summer said only to be shut up by the impact of Paris' fist into her face.

Once Summer got her over the initial shock she looked back at Paris. "You little bitch! I'm going to Headmaster Charleston and you're going to be in so much trouble."

Paris nodded. "While your there let him know that I said I'd hit you harder the next time you spread false rumors about my friends." And then she walked away

xxxxxx

Rory, Paris and Tristin were all sitting in Mr. Medina's class when Headmaster Charleston's assistant came in and handed Max a note. Max looked up curiously and said, "Rory, Paris, Tristin. The three of you are wanted in the headmaster's office now."

They all stood up and walked towards the office. When they entered the office Headmaster Charleston was not in there but Summer was sitting down in a row of four chairs. Rory looked nervous as she took her seat in the office. Tristin sat next to her and reached out for her hand. He squeezed it reassuringly. "How cute. Reassure your girlfriend." Summer said to Tristin and then looked at Rory. "It's ok little girl this really has nothing to do with you, I don't know why you're here anyway."

Paris looked at Summer. "You want another black eye?"

Summer rolled her eyes as Headmaster Charleston walked in. He took one look at the four children and sighed. He pointed straight at Paris. "You are aware that we have a no fighting policy at Chilton aren't you Ms. Geller?"

"Of course I am."

"You and Ms. Alexander were involved in a fight in the hallway today were you not."

"Yes."

"You are aware that the punishment for fighting is suspension aren't you Ms. Geller?"

"Yes."

"Ms. Alexander claims you started the altercation when you struck her. Is that correct."

"No."

"What do you mean no! You hit me!" Summer yelled

"Sit down Ms. Alexander. What are you saying Ms. Geller."

"I'm saying that Summer threw the first punch."

"Are there any witnesses that can attest to that?"

"Of course. Do you honestly think I'd be stupid enough to hit her when there were no witnesses around that could verify my story. Really Headmaster Charleston I'm in the top five percent of my class. I have enough brains to know that I need proof."

"And just who are your witnesses?"

"Tristin was there. He saw the whole thing."

"Is that true Mr. Dugrey?"

"Yes. Summer and Paris were having a heated argument, I wasn't close enough to hear what they were arguing about. Paris told Summer something and Summer shoved her up against the lockers. Paris was only defending herself. And even then she barely hit Summer."

"How can you say she barely hit me! Look at my face!" Summer yelled

"You bruise easily. You always have." Tristin said emotionless.

"If you provoked her by shoving her up against the lockers and she was only protecting herself that is a completely different issue Ms. Alexander."

"They are lying!"

"Why would I lie? I don't even know why me or Rory are here!" Tristin said

"You are here because the argument was apparently about the two of you." Charleston said

Tristin looked up at Rory and then back at Charleston. "Ok, I know what this is about."

"That's good Mr. Dugrey."

"Can I talk to you for a moment Headmaster Charleston? Privately."

"Of course. Girls go sit in the waiting room. I'll send for you momentarily."

Rory, Paris and Summer got up and walked out of the room. Before Rory was completely out she looked back at Tristin and he winked. When they were all gone he looked back at Charleston. "What is it Mr. Dugrey?"

"I know what we're about to discuss when they come back in and it has nothing to do with Rory. I really don't think she should be subjected to it."

"And why is that?"

"She's an emotional person and when she hears what Summer did, she's going to be very upset, most likely say some things she doesn't mean, and I don't think that it's necessary for her to be in trouble when none of this is her fault."

"Very well." Charleston said. He pushed the button on his intercom. "Send Ms. Gilmore back to class and Ms. Alexander and Ms. Geller back in here please."

Paris and Summer walked back in and sat back down. Tristin smiled at Paris. "Why did Rory get to go back to class?" Summer asked immediately

"Because Mr. Dugrey assures me that it was in her best interest. Now I want to know what's going on."

"Right well I'm staying with the Gilmore's while my family is out of town this month, and when I brought Rory to school yesterday it caused quite a bit of gossip. Summer approached me for a date and when I turned her down she became irate, blaming it all on Rory. She leaves me and this morning we get here and Summer has apparently lied and told the whole school that me and Rory are having a sexual relationship. Rory was extremely upset and spent most of the day hiding out from people and listening to the whole school talk about her. Paris found Rory in the bathroom balling her eyes out earlier today when someone called her a vulgar name."

And Ms. Geller was defending Ms. Gilmore to Ms. Alexander when Ms. Alexander shoved her?" Charleston asked

"Exactly." Paris said, "Rory was devastated and it's all Summer's fault. She was spreading a false rumor that no one would quit talking about. Rory skipped lunch today and sat in the library just to avoid it all."

Charleston looked unimpressed with the obviously teenage problem and sighed. "Mr. Dugrey you can go back to class along with Ms. Geller. Ms. Alexander please stay we have some talking to do."

AN: OK, so that's the end of this chapter… Expect an update if not by the end of the week then the end of the weekend.


	29. Not A Ms Magdalene

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls… 

Chapter Twenty Seven: Not A Ms. Magdalene

"So Summer was suspended for the rest of the week and has to tell everyone that she lied about me and Tristin."

"What is he El Dulche going to do hold a press conference in which he tells the whole school Summer is a liar and that you are in fact not a Ms. Magdalene?" Lorelai asked jokingly

"No I doubt that." Rory said

"That would be far to crass for Chilton." Tristin added while sitting down next to Rory and handed her and Lorelai cups of coffee. "Luke said no more coffee for you two."

"Luke is delusional." Lorelai said smiling

"Obviously." Tristin said nodding, "So did Rory fill you in on our visit with Headmaster Charleston?"

"Yes, and I must say El Dulche lucky that he dealt with little Ms. Summer before I had to." Lorelai said

"Mom, Summer is a pain in the ass, but I can handle her. She's just jealous about Tristin. She'll get over it."

Tristin smiled at Lorelai who was looking at him funny. He knew that Summer was just upset because she had found out how Tristin really felt about Rory but still that was no excuse to try and ruin Rory's reputation. Then Tristin remembered what Lorelai had said and laughed. "El Dulche?"

"Long story, involves Mom yelling at Charleston for not letting me take that Shakespeare test last year." Rory said before Lorelai could go into all the references that she was sure were swimming around in Lorelai's head that connected El Dulche and the Headmaster.

"The one you were late for because you hit the deer?"

"I didn't hit the deer, the deer hit me." Rory reminded him

"Yeah Yeah." Tristin said smiling at her, "You say that, but I don't think I've ever seen a suicidal deer before."

"The damn deer rammed into the side of my mom's jeep. I didn't hit the deer. Why won't anyone believe me!" Rory yelled

"Let's move this back to the house before Luke gets testy." Lorelai said laughing when she saw the look Luke was giving her

The two teens laughed and got up to leave. Tristin pushed in his and Rory's chairs and yelled, "Bye Luke!"

xxxxxx

Lorelai walked into Rory's room a few hours later. Rory was being her studious self and typing feverishly on her computer. Lorelai smiled and threw herself onto Rory's bed. After ten minutes of just sitting there listening to Rory type she lost her ability to control herself and said, "So Summer's jealous of you huh?"

Rory who hadn't heard Lorelai come in jumped slightly before sighing. "Yes. She's mad. She approached Tristin and he turned her down. She thinks it's my fault so she's taking it out on me. It's no big deal she'll get over it."

Lorelai nodded. "Was it your fault?"

"Was what my fault?" Rory asked never looking up from her computer and continuing to type

"Tristin turning her down."

"Why would that be my fault?"

"Maybe there is something going on between you and Tristin…" Lorelai said in a tone that really meant she was asking

Rory stopped typing and turned around to look at Lorelai. "There is nothing going on between me and Tristin." She said through gritted teeth

Lorelai smiled. "No need to get huffy sweets."

"I'm just so tired of everybody asking me that."

"I'll let you get back to your paper or whatever ok."

"OK mom." Rory said turning back to the computer and resuming her typing.

Lorelai walked out her room and upstairs. She heard Tristin typing away on his computer and smiled. She knocked on his door and when he said "Come in" she opened the door.

"Heya Tristin." Lorelai said sitting down on his bed.

"Hi Lorelai." Tristin said unsure of why she was in his room

"You and Rory working on the same thing?" Lorelai asked

"Probably. We both have an English term paper due. Why do you ask?"

"You're both typing away on your computers. It was a little creepy." Lorelai said smiling. "So, did you want to go with us to Friday night dinners or not?"

Tristin looked at her pensively. "Will it take some of the attention off of you?"

"Probably. But Richard and Emily would be taking an active interest in your life too."

"I'll talk to Rory about it and see if she wants me there and if she doesn't say anything against the idea then yeah I'll be there."

Lorelai smiled. "Great. I'll let you get back to that paper."

"Goodnight."

"Night." Lorelai said closing his door behind her

xxxxxx

Rory had been working diligently on her term paper when she received an instant message. She sighed and saved her work before opening the new window.

LADIESMAN17: Hey Mary, working on your term paper?

COFFEELOVER16: How did you know?

LADIESMAN17: Your mom told me you were downstairs typing away on your computer, I assumed it was your term paper. Was I right?

COFFEELOVER16: Of course. It's due in three days. Are you almost done with yours?

LADIESMAN17: Almost I have like three more ages to write and then I'm done. You?

COFFEELOVER16: Three more paragraphs and then I'm done.

LADIESMAN17: Should have known, Rory Gilmore's done with her paper three days early. So…

COFFEELOVER16: So… what?

LADIESMAN17: So your mom asked me if I wanted to join you guys for Friday night dinners, and I was wondering what you thought about that.

COFFEELOVER16: I think that if you wanted to submit yourself to the scrutiny of Richard and Emily Gilmore than that's your problem.

LADIESMAN17: What I mean is, do you want me there?

Rory thought for a while before smiling and typing.

COFFEELOVER16: Yes, I want you there.

Tristin smiled and couldn't help the flutter in his stomach and the nervous feeling rising up in his chest.

LADIESMAN17: Why?

Rory smiled.

COFFEELOVER16: Because you detract attention from me and my mother and that's always something that we welcome when in the Gilmore house.

LADIESMAN17: There's no other reason?

Tristin asked ignoring the brief feeling of sadness and disappointment that passed through him.

Rory ignored the fluttering in her chest and resisted the desire to tell him otherwise, that she really just enjoyed his company.

COFFEELOVER16: Well that and I really don't want you in my house alone, so you can go through my stuff and try to discover all my unmentionables.

Tristin laughed.

LADIESMAN17: I have no desire to look at your unmentionables… unless of course you want to show them to me :wink wink:

Rory blushed and then bushed harder when she realized that Tristin probably knew she was blushing.

COFFEELOVER16: Very funny

LADIESMAN17: I thought so too. Anyway… I wanted to ask you something else.

A confused look passed over Rory's face.

COFFEELOVER16: What's that?

LADIESMAN17: Everything that happened today… are you really as ok with it as you seem, because earlier today you were trapping me in a room and pacing around.

Rory sighed. She knew that she could lie and say she was fine, but she also knew that he knew she was going to lie and say she was fine. Rory got up from her computer and changed into pajamas that she wouldn't be mortified for Tristin to see her in. She then walked back over to the computer and typed:

COFFEELOVER16: Meet me in the living room.

And then she signed off.

Tristin smiled and signed off. He got up from the computer after saving his work on the term paper and started to walk downstairs. He stopped when he saw Rory digging through the linen closet. He got close to her ear and whispered so he didn't wake up Lorelai. "What are you doing Mary?"

Rory held up a finger to her lips and pulled a big blanket down from the top of the closet. She lost her footing for a second and Tristin reached out to stop her from toppling. She blushed slightly as she felt the electricity from his touch flow through her and mouthed thank you. The she walked downstairs and towards the front door with Tristin following right behind her. She quietly opened the door and let him out and then silently shut the door behind her. He took the blanket from her and she walked over to the porch swing. She sat down and motioned for him to sit down next to her, which he did. She shivered and he pulled the blanket around both of them to warm her up. She smiled and scooted closer to him. He then noticed that she had a book with her. "What's with the book?" he asked

"I thought I might read some of it at some point in time tonight." Rory replied smiling

"I see. I thought we were going to talk about today at school?"

"We are." Rory said putting it off for a few more seconds. "If I said I was fine, would you believe me?"

Tristin smiled slightly. "No, probably not. Should I believe you? If you told you were fine would you be telling me the truth or telling me what you think I want to hear?"

Rory inwardly groaned. "How is that we haven't really been friends that long and already you can read me like an open book?"

"Because Mary, I've been trying to read you since the first day I laid eyes on you." Tristin said seriously

Rory blushed. "Really, because I thought the only thing you were trying to do since you laid eyes on me was make my life at Chilton a living hell."

"If I wanted your life to be a living hell at Chilton, I never would have talked El Dulche into letting you go back to class today instead of listen to me and Paris argue with Summer. Nor would I be trying to find out if you really are ok with what happened today."

Rory sighed, knowing that he was right. "I know."

"So… are you really ok now?"

"Tomorrow is going to be hard. Everyone's talking about me Tristin."

"I know and I'm sorry. I didn't do this. I didn't tell anyone that we were sleeping together. I know better than to lie about something like that." Tristin babbled out

"Tristin stop babbling. I know you weren't the one that started this."

"It's just I chased you for so long and I was very clear about what I wanted from you. And me and you walking into classes together or eating lunch together, driving you to and from school; those are the things that made my friends say, hey he must have gotten what he wanted from her, and then me turning down Summer really didn't help."

"I know. And it's ok. I'm not one hundred percent ok with everything that happened today, but it will eventually blow over and then it will be like it never happened." Rory said earning a nod from Tristin. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course." Tristin said

"Why did you turn Summer down?"

Tristin looked at Rory for a long moment. She looked beautiful and he really wanted to tell her the truth, but he knew that neither one of them were ready for the truth to come into light. "I'm bored with Summer. She's not interesting, she doesn't have an original thought in her head, and she goes out of her way to hurt you. That's not what I want."

Rory nodded. "That's a good answer."

Tristin nodded and then took the book from her. "Whatcha got?"

"The Fountainhead."

"Ayn Rand. Never really finished the book. She's not really on my list of top ten authors."

"I love this book. I've read it a few dozen times." Rory admitted

"Well then I'll have to get it a second chance, won't I?" Tristin said smiling

"Of course." Rory said cuddling up next to him.

Tristin put his arm around her and opened the book. She laid there next to him on the swing and listened to him as he began to read aloud. About thirty pages into the book, Tristin noticed her breathing level out and realized that she was sleeping. He smiled and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, then pulled the blanket around her tighter so that she didn't get cold and continued to read, this time silently.

AN: Ok so this chapter is over, and I'm trying to adjust the dynamic between Tristin and Rory so that it's easier and more believable when I finally make this story a true TRORY… and for those of you who are wondering where's Jess and Dean… I haven't forgotten about them…read and review…


	30. Something Bad Is Going To Happen

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls… I wish I did… but I don't… (although I gotta admit that if I did own this amazing show, I wouldn't be able to pick whether Rory should be with Tristin or Logan since I love and adore both Matt Czuchry and Chad Michael Murray, and think that Rory works well will both of them…)

Chapter Twenty Eight: Something Bad Is Going To Happen

Tristin awoke feeling the sun beaming down on his face. He was extremely uncomfortable and was unsure where he was at first. He shifted slightly trying to stand up but noticed that there was something weighing him down. He looked down and saw a sleeping Rory Gilmore. He turned his head towards the house and heard Lorelai moving around. He turned his wrist upward to look at his watch and saw that it was six thirty. His brain registered the fact that they had to leave for school in an hour but he couldn't force himself to wake the sleeping goddess that currently was laying in his lap. He sighed and ran his fingers through her hair for a brief moment and yanked them back when he heard the front door open. A tired Lorelai walked out and looked at the two of them.

Lorelai may have just woken up but even she could tell that these two had been out here all night. She saw her daughter's head resting in Tristin's lap and was really curious as to how they had ended up in this position. She leaned down and picked up the book her foot had hit and handed it back to Tristin. She noticed that he looked slightly nervous and smiled at him. "There you two are. I was looking for you. I went in Rory's room to make sure she was awake and I saw that her bed hadn't been slept in…so… curious as I am I go back upstairs and knock on your door. When you didn't answer I opened it slightly to see if you were awake and noticed that your bed hadn't been slept in either."

Tristin started to say something but Lorelai cut him off. "So then I went back into the living room and checked the couch making sure that I hadn't completely lost my mind and somehow managed to walk by both of you without noticing and then I sighed in relief when no one was there. Then my relief was gone and I was slightly worried. I kept thinking where are my kids. So I came out here to make sure that your car was still here and low and behold I have found my children."

"We couldn't sleep so we came out here for a little while. We were reading and we must have fallen asleep." Tristin offered as a weak excuse

"I only see one book." Lorelai said looking at him suspiciously

"We were both reading it. I was reading it aloud." Tristin told her

Lorelai was looking at him funny and even she knew it. "Are you mad?" Tristin asked her

Lorelai shook her head slightly. "No, sweetheart I'm not mad. But things like this can't keep happening. I put a bed in your room for a reason boy. I'll let you wake her up." Lorelai said going back inside

Tristin sighed. _Not fair._ Tristin thought to himself. He shifted again and gently shook Rory. "Ror."

Rory grunted and curled into Tristin.

"Mary. It's six forty-five you gotta wake up."

Rory groaned. "Five more minutes." Her voice came out pleading

"Five more minutes and then you're up Mare." Tristin said relaxing to enjoy the five extra minutes of Rory curled up into his arms.

After the five minutes were up he shook Rory a little more forcefully in an attempt to wake her up. Rory awoke with a start and grabbed his wrist to see the watch. She swore quietly and hopped up. She was unclear about how she ended up outside wrapped up in Tristin's arms but then the memory of falling asleep in his arms as he read to her resurfaced. She smiled at him and walked inside with him following behind her. He went straight upstairs to get dressed while Rory headed into the kitchen for coffee.

Lorelai was sitting in the kitchen at the table nursing a cup of coffee when Rory walked in. "Comfy?"

"Excuse me?" Rory asked

"Were you comfy outside?"

Rory rolled her eyes. "Mom, it's too early to be cryptic. What are you getting at?"

"Nothing. It's just you and Tristin seemed really comfortable outside all night long."

"There is nothing going on between Tristin and me." Rory said walking into her room and shutting the door behind her

"I don't believe I asked her if there was anything going on between the two of them." Lorelai said aloud but to no one in particular.

xxxxxx

Lorelai walked into Luke's and headed straight for the counter. "Luuuuuke."

"Wait your turn Lorelai. I have other customers." Luke said gruffly

"Yeah, but any of them as pretty as me?" Lorelai asked smiling at him

Luke just walked over to her with a cup of coffee and said, "Now be quiet."

Lorelai smiled at the coffee and gulped it down. She looked up in time to see Jess walk downstairs. "Hey Jess."

"Morning." Jess said to Lorelai. He then turned to Luke, "I'm going to school."

"It's too early for school. Sit down Caesar will make you breakfast." Luke demanded

Jess sat down next to Lorelai at the counter. Luke came back out and noticed that Lorelai was minus two teenagers. "Where are the kids?"

Lorelai sighed. "Trailing behind me. They both got a little bit of a late start today. Probably won't eat much, so just get me two muffins, and four to go coffees."

Luke nodded and went to grab a bag for them. He put the muffins in the bag and then put four cups of coffee in a carrier. Lorelai smiled at him as he set them in front of her. "How much do I owe you diner man?"

"Nothing. On one condition." Luke said

"What's that?"

"That as soon as the diner crowd thins a little but and the gossip queens over there leave, that you tell what's bothering you."

"How do you know something's bothering me?"

"Because I've known you for five years and I recognize your something's bothering me face."

"Oh." Lorelai said nodding. "Deal."

Just then Rory and Tristin walked into the diner. "We're running way late." Rory said sitting down. "Hey Jess."

"Hey Rory."

"That's what happens when you take naps in weird places Ror. You run late." Lorelai said watching Rory blush

"Hey blame Tristin as much as me." Rory said

"I do." Lorelai said

"Food to go?"

Lorelai handed her the bag of muffins and Tristin the coffee. "Muffins and coffee."

"Lifesaver." Rory said grabbing one of the cups of coffee out of the carrier.

"Great Rory now we have to replace that because you are not getting my second cup halfway there."

"Luke I need another coffee!" Rory yelled

"I just gave you four. You aren't getting another one."

"But Luke I need another cup."

"Too bad, I refuse to let you end up like your mother." Luke said gruffly

Jess got up and fixed her another cup of coffee and handed it to her. "Thanks Jess." She whispered so Luke wouldn't hear her.

"Your welcome. Luke I'm leaving!" he yelled

"You didn't eat your breakfast." Luke said as he was walking out the door

Lorelai grinned. "It's ok I'll eat it."

Rory and Tristin laughed. "We have to go. Bye mom." Rory said kissing her on the cheek

"Bye Lorelai." Tristin told her leading Rory towards the door.

"Bye kids. Refrain from visiting Charleston today please."

"We'll try." Tristin said before the both left.

xxxxxx

About an hour later the breakfast rush had pretty much cleared out and Luke was watching Lorelai conduct business on her cell phone. Whenever he caught her eye he pointed to the NO CELL PHONES sign but she wasn't getting off and Luke was letting her get away with it if for no other reason than she had looked worried when she walked in this morning. After she hung up she looked at Luke apologetically and turned it off.

Luke came around the counter and sat down next to her. "What's going on in that head of yours?"

"I woke up this morning and I couldn't find my kid. Then I couldn't find Tristin."

"Then what happened?"

"I found them."

"Well then what's the problem?"

"They were both asleep outside on the porch swing. Rory was wrapped up in his arms and it was obvious they had been out there all night. They had a blanket and everything."

"I told you something was going to happen between those two but you wouldn't listen to me." Luke said

"No, Rory says there's nothing going on, and you know Rory wouldn't lie to me about this. They both said that they couldn't sleep and that they went outside to talk so that they wouldn't wake me up. The only reason they had a blanket was so they didn't cold."

"Ok, so I'm confused here. If Rory wouldn't lie and has told you there is nothing going on, then what are the worried expressions and frustrated looks for?"

"I don't know. I just have a bad feeling. Something bad is going to happen and it may have absolutely nothing to do with Rory or Tristin, but something bad is going to happen. I can feel it."

AN: Short and really just a filler to set up the next few chapters… read and review…


	31. Jake

Disclaimer: I still don't own Gilmore Girls 

Chapter Twenty Nine: Jake

The week flew by faster than they had anticipated. They had both appeased Lorelai and stopped sleeping outside instead of in their beds and had finally adjusted enough to Tristin being there every morning and night now having settled into a routine. Rory was thinking about her plans for the weekend, which consisted mainly of sitting in her room and reading after she finished the mountain of homework Chilton had provided her with, when Madeline shoved a flyer in front of her face.

"I'm having a party tonight. You and Tristin have to come." Madeline said smiling at her

"Well I might not, but I'm sure Tristin would love to go." Rory said

Madeline pouted and Louise looked at Rory funny. "No you don't understand, you have to come. We want you there."

"I'll think about it ok. That's the best I can do for you." Rory said walking out of the classroom

She had made it as far as her locker before she was face to face with Tristin who was leaning up against her locker. "Hey Mary."

Rory rolled her eyes at the nick name although they both knew that it didn't bother her nearly as much as it had used to. It was actually kind of sweet how everything in their friendship had changed and yet one thing stayed the same. "What can I do for you bible boy?"

Tristin smirked. "Well now that you mention it…"

Rory groaned. "Enough sexual innuendo, I have a class and I need to get into my locker."

He smiled at her. "So what's stopping you?"

Rory pointed at him, "You."

He laughed and moved off of her locker. "Sorry Mare. So have you heard about this party Madeline and Louise are throwing?"

Rory responded by handing him the flyer. She opened her locker and took out her books for her next class handing them to Tristin who took them as always. She then opened her book bag and removed the books for the class she had just left. She reached over and took the books from Tristin and placed them in her bag while he closed her locker. He smiled at the little routine they had fallen into over the last few weeks.

"So are we going?" he asked as they both started walking towards their English class

"I'm guessing you are."

"You're not going?" he asked

"I don't think so. I'm not sure."

Tristin sighed. He had expected nothing less from her. "Well, I'm not going if you don't go."

"You say that like I mind if you don't go to some party." Rory said smiling at him

"I'm hurt Mary. You don't want me to have fun and be a happy little boy? That's just not fair." He said feigning hurt

"You've had enough fun Dugrey."

"I'll tell your mom and she'll make you go." Tristin said proudly

Rory nodded. "That might work until I tell her that if she makes me go I'll convince Luke not to give her any coffee and give away our coffee pot."

Tristin sighed. "You got me there Gilmore. Nothing ever comes before the coffee. I guess I'll just have to sit at home with you and annoy you all night long."

Rory smiled. "The horror. I bet that would work out well for you when I go in my room and shut the door."

xxxxxx

Tristin sighed. He was sitting in a boring class trying to think of ways to convince Rory to go to Madeline's party and was coming up with nothing. He knew that when it came down to it all that mattered was whether or not she actually wanted to go, which Tristin suspected that she did. He turned his head and looked over in Rory's direction. She was gnawing on her pencil, her faced scrunched up in frustration. Before he knew he was doing it he let out a laugh.

"Something funny Mr. Dugrey?" the teacher asked

Tristin smiled as Rory's head whipped around to face him. "No sir. Nothing's funny. I'm sorry." He said hoping that the teacher would let it go

"Something must have been funny Mr. Dugrey you were in fact laughing. Is my teaching method humorous to you?"

"No. I really am sorry. I must have spaced out for a second or two." Tristin said

Rory sighed and then raised her hand. "Could you go over that problem again I made a mistake somewhere and I'm not sure where." She asked looking at her teacher

The teacher turned his attention away from Tristin and to Rory. "Of course Ms. Gilmore. You see first you…" he said as he began to work the problem out of the board not noticing that both of them were ignoring him.

"What were you laughing at?" She hissed in Tristin's direction

"You." He whispered simply

Rory wanted to ask him why he was laughing at her but the teacher turned around and spoke to her. "Do you see where you went wrong now Ms. Gilmore?"

Rory nodded. "Yes sir. Thank you."

xxxxxx

The bell rang signaling the end of class and Rory was up at Tristin's desk as soon in record time. "What were you laughing at me for?"

Tristin smiled at her. "Mary, Mary, Mary. Has anyone ever told you that you are far to insecure for your own good?" he asked while heading for the door

Rory was on his heels. "Cut the crap Dugrey. Why were you laughing at me?"

Tristin just kept walking towards her locker. When he got there he leaned up against it waiting for her to say something. When she ignored him and just put her books slammed her locker and walked away Tristin ran behind her. "Mary."

"The name is Rory." Rory said before going into the girl's bathroom. If she had expected Tristin to be gone by the time she got out she was mistaken. She exited the door and there stood Tristin waiting for her. "What?" she asked agitated

"You looked cute." Tristin said while reaching out and grabbing her wrist to stop her from walking away

"What?" she asked now confused but unsure if she was more confused about his words or the tingling sensation that was running through her body at his touch

"In class. You were chewing on your eraser and you had this look of pure frustration on your face. It was cute. I didn't mean to actually laugh, but you looked so cute that I couldn't help it." Tristin said looking straight into her eyes refusing to break contact first

Rory blushed and smiled. "Ok. Can we go to lunch now?"

Tristin frowned slightly as she pulled herself from his grip but followed behind her none the less. "Of course."

xxxxxx

The rest of the day passed fairly quickly and before either of them knew it they were in Tristin's car driving home. Tristin was strangely silent and Rory was slumped down half asleep in the passenger's seat. No one said a word until they got to Stars Hollow. "Coffee?" Tristin asked

"Do you even still have to ask?" Rory said bewildered

Tristin held up his hands. "Sorry. Dumb question."

"Very dumb." Rory said sitting up straighter at the prospect of coffee

Tristin pulled the car into a space in front of Luke's. He got out and opened Rory's door for her. "You know one day I'm going to break you of the habit." Rory said

"What habit?"

"Opening my door. I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself."

"Sorry. Years of having to be the perfect gentleman, and having to open doors for lazy socialite wannabes."

"And that is so not me." Rory said walking into Luke's

Tristin trailed behind looking at her longingly for a few seconds, "No it's not." He said quietly before shutting the door and joining her at the counter

xxxxxx

"So what's this I hear about a party?" Lorelai asked the second Rory came into the room.

Rory's head whipped around to face Tristin. "You traitor!" she said loudly

"Don't look at me like that! I didn't say a word." Tristin said defensively even though it was obvious he was lying.

Rory looked at him disbelief written all over her face. Lorelai smiled. "I saw the flyer." Lorelai said

Rory nodded for a second before remembering she had the flyer in her back pocket. "Liars. Both of you. I have the flyer."

"Why is it in your back pocket?" Tristin asked

"So that you couldn't give it to my mom. But apparently I should have super glued your moth shut too." Rory said aggravated

Lorelai laughed. "So why aren't you going mini-me?"

Rory rolled her eyes. "Since when do I go to Chilton parties?"

"You don't but maybe you should start." Tristin said

"And why is that?" Rory asked

"Yeah, why is that?" Lorelai asked teasingly

"You are not helping Lorelai." Tristin said

"Sorry." Lorelai said walking over to the coffee pot

"You never answered my question Dugrey." Rory said

"Because no one will expect you to go."

"Plus you could meet a guy." Lorelai said noticing Tristin's face blanch for a whole two seconds

"Yeah Mary. You could meet a guy to replace Bag Boy."

"Have fun at the party Tristin." Rory said walking in her room and shutting the door behind her.

xxxxxx

"Please remind me why I am here!" Rory yelled over the music

"Because you wanted to have fun?"

"Try again Bible Boy."

"Because I sat on your bed and annoyed you for an hour and a half until you said you'd come if for no other reason that to shut me up." Tristin said smirking

"That was it. How long do I have to stay?"

"You are turning into Paris." Tristin said

"Hey!"

"Well it's true. She's constantly checking her watch when she's at a party."

"I know she was doing it at the last one of Madeline's parties that I went to."

"Really when was that?" Tristin asked already knowing the answer

"Last year."

"Did you have fun?"

"I guess so." Rory said reluctantly although smiling at the memory of her and Tristin's kiss.

"Why are you smiling Mary?" Tristin asked remembering the kiss as well

"No reason." Rory said blushing and then walked off

"Hey! Where are you going?" Tristin called out to her but lost sight of her almost immediately

xxxxxx

Rory had been walking around by herself for about an hour deliberately ignoring Tristin when she literally bumped into Paris. "Sorry."

"No it's fine. It was my fault anyway." Paris said looking over her shoulder

"What are you doing?" Rory questioned

Paris looked over her shoulder again before grabbing Rory's hand and pulling her into a room shutting the door behind them. Rory watched as Paris locked the door. "Paris?"

"I'm helping you, shut up and be quiet." Paris hissed

After a few minutes of silently watching Paris hold her ear up to the door she grew tired of it. "Who are we hiding from?"

"Tristin, Madeline and Louise."

"Ok I know why I'm hiding from Tristin, but why are you hiding from Madeline and Louise?"

"I'm not the only one hiding from Madeline and Louise, you are too. There's this new guy here. He turned down both Madeline and Louise. Something about wanting a girl with substance, something our friends are clearly lacking. Anyway they are trolling the party looking for us. They want to set us up with him."

Rory nodded. "What's his name?"

"Jake."

AN: Next Chapter Rory meets Jake…


	32. Dance With Me

Chapter Thirty: Dance With Me 

Rory looked at Paris. "And we're hiding in a closet why?"

"Because I don't want to be set up with some guy." Paris said

Rory understood. She didn't want to be set up either but she didn't want to be hiding in a closet. She looked down at her watch. "Hey Paris it's 10:30."

Paris looked down at her watch and smiled. "You're right it is!" Paris flung the door open excitedly. "You are on you own Gilmore." She added before she walked out the door and headed towards the nearest exit.

Rory sighed before walking out of the closet. Her smile fell instantly when she saw Tristin smirking at her. "One crack about coming out of the closet, or about how me and Paris were locked up in a closet and you'll find yourself missing an appendage." She said menacingly

Tristin's smirk left his face instantly. "Don't threaten my appendage Mary. I wasn't going to say a word about you and Paris coming out of a dark locked closet." He said smiling at her again

Rory rolled her eyes and started walking away. "Rory come on don't walk away. I was just kidding."

Rory stopped and turned around. "What do you want Tristin?"

Tristin noticing a slow song was now playing reached out and took her hand. "Dance with me?"

"You want me to dance with you?" she said ignoring the tingles that she felt the second he took her hand

Tristin smiled. "Yeah. I want you to dance with me."

Rory only nodded as he pulled her through the room to the where everyone else was dancing. Once he got her to the dance floor he pulled her close to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face into his shoulder. He sighed happily pulling her as close to him as he could and they both slowly swayed to the music.

Rory inhaled deeply after a moment finding it somewhat hard to breathe. Her entire body was hyper aware, noticing every single little movement Tristin made. It was becoming more than impossible to ignore the tingles that were running marathons through her body.

Tristin's heart beat started racing the second she buried her face into his shoulder. He had never anticipated her agreeing to dance with him, let alone dance with him this way. He smiled and pulled her closer if that was even possible. He heard her gasp slightly as his hand grazed the small of her back. The song ended and she pulled herself up off of him, their arms still around each other. He looked into her eyes and smiled as she smiled at him. He began to inch closer to her his lips ready to assault hers. She licked her lips in anticipation. Tristin was about to kiss her when someone bumped into him from behind. He steadied himself and Rory then turned around to face them.

"Sorry Tris… I didn't mean to bump into you." Summer said flirtatiously and obviously lying

Tristin sighed. "Whatever Summer. I don't care. I need to get back to Rory."

Summer grinned. "Rory's gone. Come dance with me."

Tristin turned around to see that Rory wasn't standing there anymore and sighed. He turned back to where Summer was standing and looked at her. She smiled and batted her eyelashes. He groaned and walked away leaving Summer standing alone confused.

xxxxxx

Rory walked through the house with the sole purpose of finding somewhere to be alone. _I can't believe he almost kissed me, and I wanted him to! I wanted nothing more than for him to wrap his arms around me and kiss me! I can't let this happen. We live together. It would get so complicated. I can't let Tristin kiss me. I have to distance myself from him now!_ Rory thought to herself. She groaned as she saw Madeline and Louise head in her direction.

"Rory!" Madeline said excitedly

"Hi Madeline." Rory said with fake enthusiasm. She then noticed the guy that Madeline and Louise were dragging behind them

"Rory, I want you to meet someone." Louise said sweetly

"His name is Jake. He prefers girls of substance. We thought of you." Madeline added

Jake looked over at Rory and smiled. "Hi. I'm Jake."

Rory looked up at him and noticed that he was actually pretty cute. He was the polar opposite of Tristin. Tall, brunette, green eyes. She gave him a slight smile. "Hi. I'm Rory. It's nice to meet you."

Jake smiled. "You too. Do you want to dance?"

Rory sighed. She was about to say no when she spotted Tristin headed for her. "I'd love to."

Jake held out his hand which she accepted. "Great." He then led her out onto the dance floor.

Tristin walked up a few seconds after they left. Louise noticed him instantly. "Hey Tristin!" she said seductively

"Hey." He said nonchalantly while looking around for Rory

"What are you doing?" Madeline asked

"Looking for Rory. I thought I saw her over here. Have you guys seen her?"

Madeline nodded. "She's over there. Dancing with Jake." She said pointing

"Who is Jake?" he asked while frowning at the sight of Rory slow dancing with this guy he had never seen before.

"He's new. Apparently he likes brunettes with substance. He took one look at Summer and then looked her straight in the face and said no. She was shocked to say the least."

"Yeah well Summer's a moron." Tristin said before stomping off

"Well what's wrong with him?" Madeline asked

"Come on Madeline you are not confused." Louise shook her head and walked away.

Madeline looked back at Tristin who was staring at Rory and Jake. His face scrunched up in rage every time that Jake's hand brushed over the small of Rory's back. Suddenly she wasn't so confused…

xxxxxx

Rory and Jake had been dancing since he pulled her away from Madeline and Louise. She had been having a surprisingly good time with him. He was funny and he didn't seem to be as shallow as all the other guys at Chilton, with the exception of Tristin, who she knew pretended to be the shallow guy he wasn't. Every so often Tristin would enter her line of sight and she would smile at him. He smiled back every time but the last time. She had smiled at him only to see him turn his head and walk away. She decided to comment on the last thing Jake had said.

"So… you turned down Summer huh?"

Jake smiled. "She's an idiot. She thinks she's something that she's not."

Rory nodded. "And what's that?"

"Special. She thinks she's beautiful, and bright, and funny, but she's not." Jake said swaying with Rory to the music playing

"She dated my friend. She's been trying to get back together with him for a while now." Rory said thinking about Tristin

Jake watched her eyes glaze over and a small smile form in the corner of her mouth. "What are you thinking about?"

Rory blushed. "Nothing. Just thinking."

Jake smiled. "You want to get out of here? Get a cup of coffee?"

Rory smiled. "You, Jake, have found my weakness."

"Coffee?"

"Yes coffee. And yeah we can do that. Just let's go find Tristin and tell him we're leaving."

Jake stopped walking. "Tristin?"

"Yeah. Tristin Dugrey. He's one of my friends. He's my ride."

"Well then by all means let's go find Tristin." Jake said reaching out for her hand

"Ok then." She said grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the last place she had seen Tristin.

xxxxxx

Rory had spent the last hour and a half dancing and joking around with Jake and Tristin had spent the last hour and half watching her have what appeared to be an amazing time with him. She was smiling brightly and talking animatedly with him. He had never seen her smile so many times in one night. The only time he had ever seen her smile at him like that was right before Summer bumped into them earlier that night. He smiled as he saw her headed in his direction but the smile quickly fell when he saw she wasn't alone. "Hey Mary."

She smiled. "Tristin, have you met Jake?"

"No I don't believe I have." He said jealousy dripping from his voice

"Ok well. Tristin this is Jake, Jake this is Tristin."

Jake held out his hand for Tristin to shake. Tristin reluctantly shook it. "Nice to meet you."

"You too." Tristin said. He turned to Rory. "You almost ready to go Mary? I'm not really feeling that well."

Rory looked down. "Actually I was going to come and tell you that me and Jake were going to get some coffee, but if you want me to leave with you I can." She added concerned

Tristin saw that she really wanted to leave with Jake and smiled for her benefit. "No, it's ok Mar. I can go home alone. I'll see you when you get back?"

"Yeah I'll come and say goodnight." She said smiling at him

He caught her gaze and the two locked eyes for a few seconds both lost in the depths of the other's eyes. Jake cleared his throat. "So you want to go ahead a go then?"

"Yeah sure. See you at home Tristin." She said before walking off

Tristin swore under his breath. _Dumb ass! She would have left with you!_ Tristin thought to himself. He started walking towards the door when he felt someone grab his arm.

"Hey Tristin. You leaving?" Duncan asked

"Yeah I don't feel like partying." He said still walking towards the door

"What's wrong with you tonight man?" Duncan asked stopping him again

"What are you talking about Duncan?" Tristin said through gritted teeth

"The only chick I've seen you with tonight is Gilmore. Summer's been batting her sexy little eyes at you all night and you've blown her off every time."

"Is it really that hard to believe that I am over Summer? That I don't want a single thing from her. Or you for that matter?" Tristin asked harshly

"Man what are you…" Duncan asked obviously confused

"Look just stay the hell away from me Duncan. I want nothing from you or Bowman. You two are more trouble than you are worth and I'm done with it all."

"You know ever since you moved in with your precious little Mary you've been no fun. I know I've said that before but I really mean it now. You've stopped being Tristin Dugrey, king of Chilton and became Rory Gilmore's little lap dog. And for what! I saw her. She left with some guy, that wasn't you!" Duncan said rudely

Tristin sighed and kept walking towards the door.

"You'll never get her you know! She will never forget who you are! She'll never forget that all she would ever be to you is another conquest! Get over it and move on."

Tristin turned around and looked at him. "What if that's not who I want to be anymore? What if I want to change!"

"Why would you want to change. You're fine the way you are or at least you were fine the way you were. You've given up everything you were. Your status, your little black book and for what? She's not worth it. I mean she's gorgeous and I'd love to have a go with her but even then she's still nothing but a pathetic little Mary." Duncan spat out

Tristin groaned and then slammed his fist into Duncan's face. When Duncan fell to the floor covering his broken nose Tristin looked back down at him. "Like I said I'm through with you. You stay the hell away from me and you stay away from Rory." Then he stormed out of Madeline's house and headed for his car.

AN: I'm not really sure how much I like this chapter but I thought it was pretty ok… I'm going to have fun writing Jake into this story and even more fun writing jealous Tristin… read and review please


	33. Jealousy Doesn't Become You

Chapter Thirty One: Jealousy Doesn't Become You 

Jake led Rory to his car and drove half way to the nearest Starbucks before he finally broke down and asked her the question she knew he had been wanting to ask her since they left Madeline's. "Do you think that you could maybe explain the whole Tristin and him seeing you at home when you get there thing to me? I mean are you two together? Because I kind of got the impression from Madeline and Louise that you were available?"

Rory sighed. "The whole Tristin thing is complicated. All I can say is that he's staying with me and my mom while his parents are out of town. Anything else would be violating his trust, which I won't do. He's really been there for me lately and his trust is important to me." she said softly

"But you are just friends right? I mean you're definitely not together?" Jake asked hopefully

"Nope, definitely not together, definitely just friends." She said as her mind flashed back to her and Tristin's dance and almost kiss that night.

"Great." Jake said parking the car and getting out to open her door.

Rory flashed back to the other day when her and Tristin had laughed and joked about him opening her doors for her. _I have got to get him out of my mind_ she thought to herself.

xxxxxx

Tristin unlocked the front door and walked into the Gilmore house. He had been hoping that Lorelai would have been in bed since it was almost midnight, but any hope he had had was lost the second he saw her sitting down on the stairs with a cup of coffee in her hand. He jumped slightly, startled by her.

"Sorry didn't mean to scare you. Did y'all have fun?" Lorelai asked looking up for the first time and noticing that Rory wasn't there added, "Where's Rory?"

Tristin groaned. _She's probably laughing it up having a good time with Jake_ he thought to himself. "I have no clue." He said sharply before stepping around Lorelai and storming up the stairs.

Lorelai was up and on his heels. "Tristin! What do you mean you don't know where she is? My baby left this house with you, how do you not know where she is!"

"Because I don't." Tristin snapped

Lorelai looked at him for a second and saw there was definitely something going on. "Tristin what is wrong! What aren't you telling me?"

"She did what you told her to do. She met a guy." Tristin said bitterly

"And you what, you just let her go off with some guy!" Lorelai yelled

"Lorelai what do you expect from me? I can't force her to do anything she doesn't want to. I couldn't force her to leave with me and I can't force her not to leave with some guy! She doesn't have to answer to me. I'm not her boyfriend!" he said shutting his door

Lorelai sighed and opened his door again. "Do you at least know the guy she left with?"

"No. I don't. He's new."

Lorelai looked at him again this time all pity she had for him gone. "You let her leave with someone that nobody knows! He could be a killer or something."

Tristin sighed. "Lorelai calm down. I watched them the whole night. He seemed harmless, if I thought he would have hurt her I wouldn't have let her leave with him. She'll probably be home soon."

Lorelai sighed knowing that Tristin was right. "Did she at least have fun?"

Tristin's eyes fluttered shut and remained that way. His head tilted downwards for a long minute before he lifted his head and looked Lorelai in the eyes. "Yeah. She had a lot of fun. She won't regret going in the morning." He said softly having to force the words out of his mouth and then he shut the door.

Lorelai stood there slightly stunned for a long second. Once she recovered she left his door shut and headed downstairs. She got to the bottom step and looked back up at his door. She softly muttered, "Tristin, jealously doesn't become you sweetheart."

xxxxxx

Jake led Rory back to the car and started driving towards Stars Hollow. The car was filled with comfortable silence except for the occasional directions from Rory. When they got to her house he parked his car next to Tristin's Porsche. He let out a whistle. "Nice car."

Rory nodded, flashing back to the many times she rode in it. "Yeah. It's Tristin's."

"It's beautiful." Jake said admiring it

"He loves it, it's his baby. I almost have him convinced into letting me drive it." Rory said smiling

Jake smiled at her before getting out and opening her door. He walked her up to her porch and sat on the swing. "I had a great time tonight Rory."

Rory smiled. "Me too." She said noticing a small amount of awkwardness in her voice

Jake obviously didn't notice it or he simply ignored it. "We should do it again sometime." He said patting the seat next to him on the swing.

Rory flashed back to the other morning when she awoke in Tristin's arms and the night before that when they had cuddled up and he read to her until she fell asleep. Determined to get him off of her mind she nodded and sat down next to him. "You're right. We should."

Jake smiled at her and leaned in as if to kiss her. He pulled back suddenly as the front door opened and someone walked out.

"I knew I heard voices out here." Lorelai said focused solely on Rory

"I'll be in a minute mom." Rory said

Lorelai nodded. "Damn straight, I need to talk to you."

"What about?" Rory asked curiously

"The Porsche." Lorelai said as if that should explain everything before shutting the door

Jake looked at Rory. "Should I be as confused as I am right now?"

Rory smiled. "I think I'm joining you in confusion city. I have no idea what she could possibly want to talk about Tristin's Porsche for."

Jake nodded. "So you should probably go in then right?"

Rory nodded. "Yeah."

Jake stood up. "I'll see in school Monday then."

"Yeah I'll be the one that shows up in said Porsche and gets about twenty different girls giving me evil glares." Rory joked

Jake's jaw dropped slightly. "He's that sought after?"

"Yeah well Summer hates me for a reason. They all want him and they all think I have him."

Jake nodded slightly. "Well, do you?"

Rory flashed back to the party earlier. She remembered how close her and Tristin had danced and the way he looked at her before he leaned in to kiss her. She shuddered. "No. I don't have him. Never have. Just friends remember."

"I remember." Jake said. He started walking back to his car. "Goodnight Rory Gilmore."

"Night." Rory said slipping in the house.

xxxxxx

The door was barely closed before Lorelai pounced on her. "You scared the living hell out of me Rory!" Lorelai yelled

"What are you talking about?"

"The next time you leave this house in that Porsche, you damn sure better come home in that Porsche. Do you understand me?"

"I don't understand what the big deal is. So I met a guy and got him to bring me home! So what?" Rory yelled confused

"The big deal is, you didn't even know him. Hell, Tristin didn't know him! He could have been some serial killer or something.

Rory laughed. "Right a Chilton serial killer. Come on Mom."

"I just want to know what you were thinking Ror." Lorelai said her lowering her voice

_That he wasn't Tristin_ Rory thought to herself. "I don't know I was having fun. He was a nice guy and he offered me coffee. And rule number one in the Gilmore Girl handbook is…"

"Never refuse free coffee. I know." Lorelai interrupted

"Now right now all I want to do is go upstairs and say goodnight to Tristin and then go to bed." Rory said heading up the stairs

"We aren't done talking about this young lady." Lorelai said trying to sound firm and stern but failing miserably

Rory smiled. "I know. You'll get the details tomorrow I promise."

Lorelai let out a squeal before throwing her arms around Rory. "You are my daughter after all!" she said. When Rory laughed she added. "All right kid. I'm going to bed. Try to make it into yours tonight."

"Night Mom." Rory said as Lorelai shut her door. She turned around to face Tristin's door and knocked. When she got no answer she opened it and saw him sitting on his bed listening to his headphones and reading a book. She walked into the room and sat down next to him on his bed waiting for him to acknowledge her.

Tristin had heard her pull up and had heard her and Jake talking. He had gotten up and put on his head phones the second she walked in the door and Lorelai started yelling. He had heard her walk up the stairs and heard Lorelai squeal in delight as Rory promised details of her date. He had heard her knock on his door but couldn't find his voice to tell her to come in. He was a little a surprised when she walked in anyway and sat on his bed. He wanted to acknowledge her immediately but had no clue what to say. He sat there for five minutes ignoring her while she stared at him out of the corner of her eye. He felt her shift to move off the bed and reached out and grabbed her wrist. "Did you have fun tonight Mary?" he asked quietly

Rory temporarily paralyzed from his touch simply said "I did."

Tristin took a better look at her. "Then why aren't you smiling?"

"Just tired I guess." Rory said softly

Tristin released her wrist. "Then go to bed." He said before putting his head phones back on.

Rory sighed before reaching up and pulling his head phones off. When he looked at her confusion written all over his face she said, "Can I just stay here for a little longer?"

Tristin smiled inwardly. "As long as you want Mare."

AN: Ok, here's another chapter… Not sure what the next chapter has in store for y'all since I haven't even started working on the outline… read and review…


	34. Did You Miss Me?

AN: I'm so sorry that this update took so long. For the longest time I was just to lazy to write but then when I decided I wanted to write I was having some problems with my Microsoft Word program and it wouldn't let me open my files… Read and enjoy

Chapter Thirty Two: Did You Miss Me?

It had been a week since the party and Jake was everywhere. He sat with them at lunch, he waited by her locker after every class and continually offered to drive her home, and it was driving Tristin insane. He was constantly reaching out and holding her hands and she kept smiling at him as they continued to get closer and she continued to pull away from Tristin. There were no more late night visits when she couldn't sleep, or long lengthy conversations outside on the porch swing at two AM. Tristin had been working overtime to hide his discomfort whenever Jake was mentioned. He avoided Rory like the plague whenever Jake was there so that she, Lorelai and even Jake couldn't notice his disappointment. Jake was slowly becoming a fixture in Stars Hollow. Taylor liked him immediately, Kirk constantly approached him, and Ms. Patty had even made a few futile attempts at grabbing his ass. The only solace that Tristin had found was that Luke apparently didn't like Jake and Lorelai had been somewhat less than responsive to him as well. When he showed up this morning insisting on going to breakfast with them Tristin had practically begged Rory not to make him go but when she looked at him with her big blue eyes his heart melted and he agreed.

The three of them walked into Luke's this morning, with Tristin trailing behind him and Rory, and everyone appeared to notice that the dynamic had changed. The people of Stars Hollow had been patiently waiting for Rory and Tristin to get together but now seeing Rory and Jake holding hands a hush fell over the diner. Luke looked up and saw Rory and Jake and noticed that Rory was blushing. He looked at them harder trying to figure out what exactly the town had reacted to and then he saw it. They were holding hands. He had seen this Jake guy reach out and grab her hand before but he had never once seen her fingers entwined in his. Luke sighed when he looked over at Tristin who was just standing by the door. He felt bad for him. He knew how Tristin felt about Rory and he had thought that Rory had felt the same way, but now he was thinking that maybe he was wrong. Trying to release Rory from the awkward moment she was currently trying to live through he yelled, "Start eating or get the hell out! This is a diner not a movie theater!"

Rory flashed him a thank you smile and sat down at the table Jake had led her to. Tristin walked up to the counter and sat down. He smiled at Luke. "Hey Luke."

"Tristin." Luke said nodding his acknowledgement

"How's it going this morning?"

"Fine. People have to eat you know." Luke said smiling, "It's a little early for you two to be here isn't it? It's not even noon yet."

"Jake wanted to go to breakfast." Tristin said coolly

"Not to sound like some gossiping girl or anything, but what's going on with those two? Are they dating now?" Luke asked gaining eye contact with Tristin hoping for Tristin to let down his walls for one second and show how he really felt.

Tristin never broke eye contact with Luke and said unemotionally, "I have no idea what they are doing."

"Oh." Luke said watching Tristin eyes follow back over in Rory's general direction.

Tristin looked over at them and almost as if someone were trying to slap some sense into him Rory laughed and Jake squeezed her hand. A groan slipped from his mouth before he could stop it. He knew that Luke had heard it and sighed. His eyes rolled back over at Luke who was pouring him a cup of coffee in a to-go cup. "If Rory asks…"

"I'll tell her you weren't feeling well and went home to rest." Luke said sadly while handing him the cup

Tristin smiled. "Thank you."

"I'll even send Jess over in fifteen minutes with some food for you." Luke said

Tristin raised his eyebrow. "Is Jess even awake?"

"No." Luke said laughing "See you later."

Tristin nodded and stood up. He walked to the door and stole one last look at Rory who was blissfully ignoring him and then walked out of the diner.

xxxxxx

Rory had noticed the second that Jake had woken her up and insisted that the three of them go to breakfast that Tristin was uncomfortable. If Rory was really honest with herself she was uncomfortable as well. She had been avoiding Tristin all week but he had been doing the same thing so she didn't feel that bad about it. Jake was everywhere and she knew it was driving Tristin crazy. She could tell that he didn't really like Jake that much, and although his opinion mattered to her more than he would never know, she couldn't force herself to stay away from Jake. She felt terrible for using Jake to keep her mind off of Tristin and she knew that Jake had probably picked up on that fact just a little. When they had walked into the diner and everyone looked at her and Jake she knew what they were all thinking. _What happened to Rory and Tristin? Are they not together? _She noticed the second he left to diner. When Luke walked over to the table with her normal order of pancakes she smiled sweetly at him and said thank you. She watched Luke regard Jake with little emotion. She could tell that Luke didn't really like Jake and she understood that. Luke never liked any guy that showed her attention. Except Tristin.

After a few minutes of polite conversation with Rory and Jake, Luke looked at her expectantly. When it became obvious to him that she wasn't going to say a word about Tristin he sighed and walked away from the table.

xxxxxx

Lorelai was awakened by loud incessant knocking. She groaned and rolled over in bed pulling her pillow over her head silently praying that Rory or Tristin would make the knocking stop or that it would just go away on its own. The knocking got louder and Lorelai threw her pillow off her head and stood up. She looked over at the clock and read _11:45_. She grabbed her robe and walked out of her room stopping to look into Tristin's room. The door was wide open and Lorelai saw that the room was immaculately clean. She continued her descent down the stairs and past the front door and the loud banging to grab a cup of coffee. She had a feeling that she was going to need it. She looked in Rory's room and saw that it too was empty. She saw the note by the coffee pot that said _ Lorelai: we went to Luke's for breakfast see you later- Tristin_. The banging began again and she groaned. "I'm coming I'm coming!" she yelled. She walked into the living room again and this time opened the front door, revealing a man that she recognized. "Hi."

"Hello." The man said

"Would you like to come in?"

"Thank you." he said. He walked in and looked around. "I assume you know who I am?" he asked

"Of course. You're Greg Dugrey. Tristin's father."

"Is he here?"

"No. He's with my daughter at breakfast. They should be back any minute now if you'd like to wait." Lorelai informed him

"That would be nice thank you."

Lorelai nodded and the two stood in uncomfortable silence for a few long seconds. "You can um.. have a seat on the couch and I'll be right back. I'm just going to go change."

He nodded and sat down as Lorelai went back upstairs. He stood back up and looked around the small living room and his eye caught on a picture of Tristin and a girl he was assuming was Rory. He picked it up and looked at it closely. Tristin had his arm around the girl and they both appeared to be peacefully sleeping on the couch. "I took that the first week he was here. We were watching a movie and they fell asleep. It was cute." Lorelai said from behind him

"Where does he sleep?"

"He has a room here. Follow me." Lorelai said leading the man up the stairs

They stopped in front of "the blue room" and Lorelai moved aside so he could enter. "He has his own room?"

"We made room for him in our lives." Lorelai said with a slight hint of coldness to her voice

Greg walked further into the room. He walked over to the book case and his fingers skimmed the covers. Tristin's collection had grown tremendously since he had moved in and Lorelai had said a few days before that if it got any bigger she'd have to get Luke to build him a new own. "There are a lot of book here. Are they all his?"

"Yes. My daughter loves to read too. The two of them spend hours in the book store."

Greg simply nodded. "You must have spent a nice amount of money moving him in here."

Lorelai simply nodded. "Like I said, we made room for him in our lives."

"If that is an accusation that I have never made time for my son, you are sadly mistaken Lorelai."

"How did you know where he was?" Lorelai asked slightly angry

"One of his low life friends called me after an incident at a party last week. Told me that I should come home and handle my son. When I inquired as to what exactly my son had done this time, I was informed that he had been in fight. Which I'm guessing you knew nothing about since you looked surprised. When I said I'd come home as soon as I could and handle it I was informed coming home would do no good considering my son was no longer living at my house and that he had moved in here."

Lorelai opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by the slam of the front door. She turned away from Greg and headed downstairs with Greg following behind her. She paused at the staircase when she noticed that she could hear yelling coming from the living room. "You stay here." She told him and headed down into the living room leaving Greg on the stairs.

xxxxxx

"Is there a particular reason why you won't leave me alone!"

"I just think it's funny. You put so much effort into taking her from me and now you don't even have her!" Dean said laughing

Tristin gritted his teeth. He refused to hit Dean in this house. Lorelai had been far too kind to him for him to start some kind of fight in her home. "I never tried to take her from you. But if I succeeded in removing a pathetic, possessive pain in the ass like you from her life than I consider that a gold star well earned."

"You think that just because we aren't talking now that really means that she won't be in my life? Please man, Rory will come to her senses and she'll get back together with me. It's only a matter of time and I'm willing to wait."

Tristin scoffed. "That's great. I'm glad you can wait, 'cause you'll be doing that for a while. She's not coming back to you and you know it."

"Well she sure as hell isn't your girlfriend is she!" Dean yelled back

"I swear to god Dean if you don't get out of this house I will physically remove you." Tristin threatened

Dean was about to egg him on when Lorelai made her presence known. "How about you leave now Dean." She said calmly

Dean shook his head and walked out of the house slamming the door behind him. Lorelai looked over at Tristin. "You ok?"

Tristin nodded. "I'm fine. I really hate that guy. You know he followed me all the way back from Luke's? I think that I'm being punished for something."

Lorelai smiled. "Where's Rory?"

"Still at Luke's. She was eating breakfast with Jake when I left." Tristin said slumping down into the couch

"Oh." Lorelai said her voice full of sympathy

"Why does everyone do that!" he yelled

"Do what?" Lorelai asked confused

"As soon as they find out that she's with him that all talk to me like my puppy just died."

"You have a puppy?" Lorelai asked trying to lighten the mood

Tristin groaned and stood up headed in the direction of the staircase. Lorelai sighed for a second and then remembered that Greg was still on the staircase. "Tristin wait!" she yelled out a second too late.

Tristin was eye to eye with his father. He was stunned into silence. Greg looked furious with him and he had no clue what to say. After a long minute Greg spoke. "Did you miss me?"

AN: Read and Review…


	35. Why Are You Here?

Chapter Thirty Three: Why Are You Here?

"Did you miss me?"

Tristin's eyes widened. "Did I miss you? Why would I miss you?"

"Tristin…" Lorelai said softly

"Why are you here?" Tristin said through gritted teeth

"Honestly Tristin you didn't think I'd find out what you've been up to lately. What were you thinking imposing yourself on this family?"

"I have never once imposed myself on this family!" Tristin yelled

"You honestly expect me to believe that you haven't imposed on this family at all when you've been imposing on your own since the day you were born." Greg replied

"Stop! He's not imposing on us. We had to practically beg him to stay here with us after you abandoned him." Lorelai said defending Tristin

"Why are you here?" Tristin asked again

"One of your friends from Chilton called me. He said you were fighting at school, fighting at Madeline Lynn's house and living with the black sheep of the Gilmore family." Then when noticing the look on Lorelai's face he added, "his words not mine."

"How dare you come into this house and insult Lorelai!" Tristin yelled

"When I said to take care of yourself while I was gone I didn't mean move in with someone else and be a burden on them." Greg said coolly ignoring Tristin's disapproval of the way he talked about Lorelai

"Who called you?"

"Why does it matter?" Greg asked

"Because it does."

"Are you even going to waste your breath and deny that you were caught fighting in school or that you punch Duncan Roberts at the Lynn's?"

"No, I'm not. I had a reason for hitting Duncan both times. Duncan should learn to control his mouth and watch what he says to me about…"

"About who?" Greg inquired

Tristin shook his head. "Never mind it's not important. I'm not about to give you any more ammunition to use against me. Now who called you?"

"The Ryan's boy. I believe he's new at Chilton. I have a lot of business dealings with his father."

"Jake?"

"I believe that's his name."

"Jake? Rory's Jake?" Lorelai asked

Tristin simply nodded and started heading for the door again.

"Where are you headed young man?" Greg yelled

"Out, I'll be back later Lorelai." Tristin said turning around and facing her

"Tristin…" Lorelai said

"It's fine Lorelai." Tristin said before shutting the door

Lorelai looked at Greg and sighed shaking her head. "You really shouldn't have told him that."

"Where is he going?"

"Jake is dating my daughter, and he's been busy trying to worm his way in and get rid of Tristin."

"Well don't worry I'm taking Tristin back with me. He won't be here to bother you any longer."

"No." Lorelai said simply

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me no. You aren't taking Tristin anywhere."

Greg's mouth dropped open. "You can't tell me what I can and can not do with my son. He's my child not yours Lorelai."

Lorelai scoffed. "Now all of a sudden he's your son. When it's convenient for you! I knew there was a reason I left Hartford society. All of you people are hypocrites! You can't be bothered with him until he's in trouble and then your solution is to just walk away from him and leave him in a mansion all alone for a month. Yep that's right that's the way to parent. When things get rough abandon the kid. Do you even know your son at all!"

"How dare you speak to me like that? The boy is my son and I refuse to let you tell me how to raise him!"

"And I refuse to let you speak to me as if I am beneath you. Get out." Lorelai ordered

Greg shook his head. "I will be back for my son." He said through gritted teeth and then walked through the door.

xxxxxx

Tristin walked through the door to Luke's full of rage. He walked over to Luke and stood in front of him. "Hey Luke I need a favor."

"What?" Luke asked

"I need Rory to be upstairs or anywhere but here. I need to have a discussion with Jake and I'd prefer her not be here for it?"

"What's going on Tristin?"

"I'll explain it later Luke just please do this for me."

Luke sighed. "Tell Rory that Jess needs to see her upstairs for a few minutes. I'll call Jess and tell him to keep her up there for ten minutes. That's the best I can do." Luke said picking up the phone

"Thanks Luke." Tristin said. He walked straight over to the table that Rory and Jake were at. He sat down next to Rory and smiled. "Hey."

"Hey." Rory said

"Hey Tristin. Where'd you go this morning?" Jake asked

"I just had an errand to run." He said turning to Rory, "Luke asked me to tell you that Jess needed to see you upstairs for a minute. It's supposed to be important."

"Oh. Ok." Rory said standing up. "I'll be right back Jake."

"I miss you already." Jake said sweetly making Rory blush and Tristin roll his eyes.

Rory was halfway to the stairs when Tristin called out, "Hey Mare?"

"Yeah?"

"Later on tonight, I really want to have a talk with you. We haven't done that in a while and I have a lot to talk to you about."

Rory smiled. "Of course."

Once Rory was out of earshot and eyesight he looked over at Jake. "You son of a bitch." He said softly but loud enough for Jake to hear him

"Excuse me?"

"Tell me you have a real reason for calling my dad."

"I don't know what you are talking about Dugrey." Jake said calmly

"Yes you do. You called my father and you told him I was here. Why?"

"Come on Tristin, I don't know what you're talking about. You're paranoid."

Tristin nodded slowly. "You're right I'm paranoid. My father who had no reason whatsoever to lie to me about who called him to inform him of my behavior lied to me and said it was you."

Jake laughed and shook his head. "Why would I call your father Tristin. It's not like I have any reason to be threatened by you. I have Rory, not you." he said stressing the I.

"Are you that insecure? I'm not trying to take Rory from you. You didn't have to do this. Going to my father was uncalled for. He's going to make me leave Lorelai's is that what you wanted to happen? You want me out of Stars Hollow so you have no competition for Rory? That's pathetic." Tristin said through gritted teeth

"Look in all honestly, if you hadn't have gotten in that fight at the party and the fights at school I wouldn't have had a thing to tell your father. You shouldn't be here anyway. You aren't her boyfriend, and you're not Lorelai's son."

"I shouldn't be here! You shouldn't be here!" Tristin snapped

"And why is that?"

"There are two people in this town that Rory cares about more than anyone else. Their opinions matter more to her than anyone's. And both of them hate you." at Jake's slightly shocked face and the silhouette of Rory walking back down the stairs he added, "Stay the hell away from me and my father." And then stormed out of the diner

Rory walked back over to the table with a hand full of books. "Where'd Tristin go?" she asked Jake

Jake smiled and shook his head. "I'm not sure. How about we get out of here today?"

"What do you suggest?" Rory asked

"We could go into Hartford and peruse the book stores and the record stores. I need some new CD's and I'm sure you'd love some new books." Jake said eager to keep her away from Tristin for as long as possible

"Sure." Rory said, "Just let me call my mom." She stood up and walked over to the counter. "Hey Luke can I use the phone?"

Luke walked out and handed the phone to Rory. "Sure."

xxxxxx

Tristin walked back up the Gilmore house and noticed his father was still there but in the front yard. He laughed. "What exactly is so funny son?" Greg asked

"She kicked you out of the house didn't she?" Tristin said smiling widely "I'm not going home with you."

"Don't presume to tell me what you think you are going to do. I am your father and you are my son and I'm taking you home."

AN: Read and Review…


	36. Failure To Return A Child

Chapter Thirty Four: Failure To Return A Child

"There isn't a word that you can say that will make me go home with you. There isn't a thing you can do to make me leave with you. I'm happy where I am." Tristin said forcefully

"You will leave with me whether you like it or not Tristin. I am your father and I'm taking you home." Greg Dugrey said just as forcefully

Tristin shook his head and a laugh slipped past his lips. "My father?" he said pausing and then nodding his head he added, "Well ok, I guess biologically you are my father, but emotionally, no. You've never once treated me like your son. I have never been anything to you but an heir that you can mold and shape to fit into your life the way you want me to, groom me to take over the family law firm, coerce me into being the exact opposite of anything that I want to be for myself. You've done nothing but try to stamp out any individuality that I may have and trade it in for the perfect socialite son. Well guess what Dad, that's not me and it will never be me. The only time you have the time to pay attention to me and what I'm doing is when I'm in trouble."

Greg stood and watched his son unaffected by his anger. "Tristin Janlen Dugrey you will get your ass into that car and you will go home with me now!" he commanded

Tristin shook his head. "No."

"Excuse me?" Greg said

"I said no. I already told you I'm not going anywhere."

"You are coming home with me."

Tristin nodded for a second. "No I'm not." and then he turned away from his father and walked up the stairs that led to the porch and then slammed the front door in his father's face.

xxxxxx

After his father left Tristin had gone straight up into his room passing on talking about what had just happened with Lorelai. He had gone into his room and tried to do some of his homework he had put of the night before because of the Gilmore's weekly Friday night dinners. After trying to get through the massive amount of math problems he still had left and failing miserably he decided to read. He put his headphones on and pulled a book off of his shelf but his eyes couldn't or wouldn't focus on the words and they kept bleeding together. He took his headphones off and threw the book across the room and decided to go to sleep. He was awakened three hours later by knocking. He mumbled, "Come in." and then buried his face back in his pillow. He heard the door open and felt the bed shift under someone's weight but his visitor remained silent. After what felt like forever he lifted his head from the pillow and looked to the foot of the bed to see who had came in. He sighed when he saw Lorelai and buried his face back in the pillow; he had been silently hoping that it would have been Rory.

"Tristin." Lorelai's shaky voice said

"Lorelai I really don't want to talk about it." he said ignoring the tremble in her voice

Lorelai sighed. "I know and then would be all well and good if it wasn't for this piece of paper I'm holding here in my hand."

Tristin sat up instantly interested and held out his hand for the paper. He read the words on the paper twice his eyes widening more with every line he passed. He looked up at Lorelai who had tears filling her eyes and knew that she knew exactly what it meant. "Can he do this? I mean legally can he do this?" Tristin asked although he already suspected the answer was of course he can do this.

Lorelai looked at Tristin, the boy she had come to think of as her own, the boy that she knew would someday marry her daughter if they could both get over whatever it was that was holding them back and her heart broke. She had said the exact same thing when she read it and she listened to three separate lawyers tell her that legally Greg Dugrey could do whatever he wanted with Tristin and if that meant going through Lorelai Gilmore than so be it. "Legally yes he can. You are still a minor and if I don't return you to your father he can and will have me arrested for kidnapping and failure to return a child."

"Are you sure?" Tristin asked with a slight tremble in his own voice

"Three different lawyers seem to think he can."

Tristin nodded and the two of them sat in what was the most uncomfortable silence they had ever endured both letting the words Lorelai had just spoken sink in and flit through their brains. Lorelai looked up at him and her heart broke again. "Tristin, you know that I absolutely adore you..."

"I know." he said interrupting her

"And that I think of you as my own child..."

"I know." he said a bit softer

"But, I have Rory to think of..."

"And I have to go home." Tristin finished for her

Lorelai nodded unable to for the word yes.

Tristin knew this was hard for her and sighed. "It's ok Lorelai. Really. I understand, I really do. I'll start packing." He said calmly while standing up and taking a box out of his closet.

Lorelai stood up and walked over to him. She wrapped her arms around him and said, "I'm so sorry. You know I would never force you to leave here if I wasn't being forced to."

"I know."

Lorelai nodded and left the room. Once the door shut behind her, Tristin heard her collapse in sobs.

xxxxxx

Lorelai walked into Luke's, her eyes searching for Luke. She found him patiently waiting on the elderly Mrs. Slutsky, whom had lived next door to his diner since as long as she could remember and silently made her way up to the counter. She collapsed into the stool and laid her head on the counter patiently waiting for Luke to come over to her. She heard someone sit next to her and before they even said a word she said, "Go away Kirk."

"How'd you know it was me? I didn't say a word and you didn't lift your head?" Kirk asked curiously

"I'm a witch." Lorelai said still not lifting her head.

"Really?" Kirk asked a little frightened

"Yes, my new flying broomstick should be arriving via amazon next week."

"You new one? What happened to the old one?"

"It broke." Lorelai said, "No go away before I turn you into a toad."

"But... but... Taylor doesn't like toads, he wouldn't be my friend anymore." Kirk said terrified

"Exactly." Lorelai said smiling slightly when she heard Kirk scramble out of his chair and the diner immediately.

"How'd you really know it was Kirk?" she heard Luke's voice ask

"Because no one else is stupid enough to sit next to me when my head is down and there isn't a coffee cup near me." Lorelai said still not lifting her head

Luke nodded, which went unseen by Lorelai. He filled a cup of coffee and placed it in front of her. "I have to go take some orders." he said trying to get her to talk to him

"Ok." Lorelai said ignoring the coffee cup in front of her

Luke walked away to help his customers and when he came back he could swear he head Lorelai crying. "Lorelai?" he asked softly

"What?" she mumbled

"Are you ok? Did something happen to Rory?"

"I'm fine and so is Rory." Lorelai said lifting her head for the first time since she sat down. "Can I have a cup of coffee?"

Luke resisted the urge to tell her that he had already given her a cup that she had left alone till it was cold and that coffee could and most likely would kill her some day nodded and poured her a cup of coffee. "What's wrong?"

"Remember when I said that I had a feeling something bad was going to happen?" she asked and at his nodded she handed him the legal document. "Well I was right and it did."

AN: Sorry so short... read and review... please 


	37. Ask Your Boyfriend

Chapter Thirty Five: Ask Your Boyfriend

"He's going to have you arrested for kidnapping?"

Lorelai sighed. "That's what it says. It says that I have twenty four hours to produce Tristin or I'm going to jail."

Luke looked at her for a second before walking back to the kitchen. "Caesar I'm taking a break." He then walked back out to the diner to see Lorelai pouring herself another cup of coffee. "Let's go talk upstairs."

"Is there coffee upstairs?"

"No."

"Can I bring the pot?"

"Yes." Luke said sighing

Lorelai followed Luke upstairs and when they got there Jess was sitting on the couch watching TV. "Hey Jess."

"Lorelai."

"Can I ask you a question?" Lorelai said

"Um... sure I guess so." Jess said

"Do you like Jake?"

"Rory's boyfriend?"

"He's not really her boyfriend I don't think..."

"No he is."

"Ok fine. Rory's boyfriend. Yes. Do you like him?"

"No. Why?"

"Just curious." Lorelai said

"Why don't you go downstairs and help Caesar for a few minutes." Luke suggested

"Do I have to?" Jess asked

"Yes."

Jess nodded and walked out of the door. Luke looked over at Lorelai. "So Tristin's father is back and he wants his son."

"Yes."

"And you don't want to send him back?"

"It's not me. It's Tristin. He really doesn't want to go home."

"But you knew that would happen." Luke reminded

"I know. But Luke he really didn't want to go home." Lorelai said

"Lorelai you know that you have to send him home right? I mean you can't go to jail for this. You have a kid too. Rory has to be your priority."

"I know. But asking Tristin to leave was the hardest thing I've ever done."

"I'm sure he understands, I mean you showed him the document right?"

"Yeah. And he does. He knows that Rory has to come first and that he has to go. He just looked so sad. And I can't get a hold of Rory and I want to kill that stupid Jake kid." Lorelai rambled

"Jake? What does that little twerp have to do with anything?"

"He's the one that called Tristin's father and told him where Tristin was."

"Why would he do that?"

"Isn't that obvious? He views Tristin as competition for Rory and what better way to eliminate the competition that to move it out of her house." Lorelai said disgusted

Luke nodded remembering this morning when Tristin had came in and wanted Rory out of the diner. "Tristin knows that Jake was the one that called his dad doesn't he?"

"Yeah why?"

"Well this morning he left and then less than an hour later he came back and he asked me to get Rory upstairs so he could talk to Jake. I didn't know what it was about but I agreed because I like Tristin..."

"And you don't like Jake."

"Right."

"Well what happened?"

"I don't know it was all so hushed. His voice was never loud enough to hear. I looked over a few times and could see that Tristin was resisting the urge to hit him."

"Well after that Jake made it a point to get Rory out of Stars Hollow for the day which I agreed to because at the time I didn't know that I was going to be forced to give Tristin back to a neglecting family and thought that I would give Tristin and myself some time to cool off before we had to see Jake again..."

"Which was smart." Luke added

"But I didn't know that Rory didn't have her cell phone and I don't know Jake's number, although I guess in retrospect I could have always asked Greg Dugrey he'd probably have his informant's number..." Lorelai rambled anger emanating from her voice

Luke walked over to her and held her by the top of her arms. "Lore. Calm down. There is absolutely nothing you can about this. You have to let it go." He felt Lorelai's body weaken beneath his touch and knew that she had calmed down enough to let her go

"I know. I know Luke. But that kid is me. He feels the same way I did growing up and I hate to see him going through that. He acts out to get attention from a family who would happily ignore him and let him do as he pleases as long as he upholds the family name and doesn't get into too much trouble. I know how he feels and how he thinks and I can't just let him go back to that."

"There's nothing that you can do about it though. He's not your son. You can't keep him against his parent's will, no matter what he wants."

xxxxxx

Tristin was packing up the books on his bookshelf when he heard a knock on his door. "Come in." he called out

He turned around and saw Jess standing there with a bag. "Luke sent this for you." Jess said sitting the bag down on his desk

Tristin nodded. "Thanks."

Jess turned and started to walk out the door only to stop half way there.

"Something I can do for you Jess?" Tristin asked never looking up from his books but noticing that Jess hadn't left yet

"Are you really leaving?" Jess said his voice sounding slightly hopeful

"I don't have a choice. I'm not willing to risk Lorelai and Rory for my own happiness. I guess the Dugrey selfishness skipped a generation. They mean too much to me for them to get hurt in the crossfire."

"Especially Rory right?" Jess said bitterly

"Right." Tristin said. He stopped picking up books and stood still looking straight at Jess and then added, "What does it matter anyway? You dislike me just as much as Dean does, and for the same reason. Jake too. You all think that I'm a threat to what you want with Rory. It's pathetic neither Dean or Jake have enough self confidence and common sense to know that Rory doesn't or wouldn't cheat, and you can't realize that she'll never look at you as anything but a friend. So you all verbally assault me..."

"I never said a word to you that could be considered verbal abuse." Jess said defensively

"No, you're right. It's the way you talk to me as if I'm beneath you."

"Because you have never talked to anyone like that, Mr. Society." Jess said harshly

"Only Dean and Duncan and that's because they are beneath me. Anyone that can say the things the say about Rory or speak to her the way they do is beneath me." Tristin said

Jess looked as if he wanted to say something but didn't.

"Is that all, because if it is I should really get back to what I was doing." Tristin said resuming his book packing as Jess walked out of the room.

xxxxxx

Rory walked into the house after having an extremely long day perusing music and book stores in Hartford. She walked into the kitchen to get herself a drink where she saw Lorelai drinking a cup of coffee. Rory walked over to the coffee pot, which was now empty and started a new pot of coffee. While waiting for it to finish she looked over at her mother who looked slightly dazed and decided to steal a sip of her mom's coffee. Lorelai didn't notice that Rory had her coffee until she heard Rory coughing. "My lord Mom what's in this?"

"Booze." Lorelai said plainly and unemotionally

"Why?"

"Because."

"Killer reason Mom." Rory said pouring herself a cup of fresh coffee and one for Lorelai. "Here drink this."

"Ok." Lorelai said before adding alcohol to the new cup of coffee.

Rory rolled her eyes. "Bad day?"

"Yeah. How was yours?"

"Fine. I think we went into every bookstore and music store in Hartford today."

"Get anything?"

"Lots of books, a few CD's." Rory said

"Have fun?"

"Yeah." Rory said smiling and nodding

"Good. I've got some stuff to do." Lorelai said walking towards the living room. "Oh yeah Ror I forgot to tell you something." Lorelai added

"Does it have anything to do with Luke?" Rory asked curiously remembering that she had seen Luke's truck in the driveway when Jake had dropped her off

"No. You aren't allowed to see Jake anymore. He's not welcome here and he's not welcome at Luke's." Lorelai said before walking upstairs.

Rory looked at her mom confused and headed up the stairs after Lorelai. She had planned to go in there and argue until she found out what was wrong, but once she got up the stairs she saw her mom go into Tristin's room and then saw boxes everywhere. She walked into his room, not even knocking. "What is going on here!" she yelled

Tristin's head popped out of the closet. "Ever heard of knocking Mary?"

"No. What are you doing? Why are you packing?" Rory demanded

"I'm going home." Tristin said coolly

"What! No you're not!" Rory yelled

"Yes. I am."

"No you're not."

"YES Mary I am." Tristin repeated

"No." Rory said angrily

"Mary I can't make it any simpler here. I am going home. You don't have a say in the matter. Now kindly move so your mom and I can carry these boxes down to Luke's truck." Tristin said sounding just as angry as Rory did

Rory moved and watched her mom and Tristin carry boxes down to the car. After all the boxes had been transported to Luke's truck Tristin came back in the house and called Luke while Lorelai went into the kitchen. When he got off the phone he followed Lorelai into the kitchen. She sat down in the living room trying to hear the conversation that Lorelai and Tristin were having but it wasn't working. It was obvious that something had happened and she wanted to know. She heard Luke's voice from the kitchen and decided that she was going to go in there and demand an answer. "Why are you leaving?" she demanded of Tristin, "Did I do something that you're angry about it?"

"No Mary. It has nothing to do with you directly." Tristin said his anger softening when he saw tears in her eyes

"The why are you leaving!" she demanded again.

"As your boyfriend." Tristin said before muttering "Let's go" to Luke and the both of them headed out the door.

Rory looked back at Lorelai who was crying. "Mom?"

"Not now Ror." Lorelai said before walking upstairs and slamming the door behind her

AN: I'm sorry you guys... I had to get him out of the house...Read and Review


	38. Damn It

Chapter Thirty Six: Damn It

Rory spent the rest of the weekend in her bedroom. She hadn't been able to get a hold of Jake or Tristin. Her mother had started talking to her again but still refused to tell her why Tristin had left. She just kept saying that Tristin should be the one to tell her and that he would when he was ready. Rory looked up at her clock and saw that it was 1:30 in the morning. She knew that she should go to sleep since she had Chilton in about six and half hours but she couldn't sleep. She opened her door and headed upstairs towards Tristin's room. She saw the closed door and for a minute it felt like he was still there. She opened it quietly so she didn't wake up Lorelai and walked in shutting it behind her. The room that had been so full of life and literature a mere forty eight hours earlier was now cold and impersonal. She walked over to the desk and smiled as a memory flooded her brain. Lorelai had given Tristin a desk they had found in the garage and about two weeks ago Tristin had been sitting in his room on the bed with Rory reading a book when the desk just collapsed. Tristin had went out the very next day and bought a new desk. Rory had sat and watched Tristin try to put this desk together by himself only to have it too collapse when he stood it up. Luke had came over and had it put together and sturdy in fifteen minutes. She opened the drawer and saw that Tristin had left something in it. Rory recognized it immediately as a picture of her that was taken at the dance during her first year of Chilton. She flipped it over to see if anything was written on the back and saw just one word. Mary. She smiled at the once aggravating name and put the picture back where she had found it. She looked back around the room and her eyes settled on the bed. She walked over to the bed and sat on it. She picked up his pillow and pulled it to her face. She inhaled a deep breath and found that even in his absence the pillow still smelt of him. Within minutes she found herself curled up in his bed, her face buried in his pillows and sound asleep.

xxxxxx

Lorelai awoke earlier than she was used to. Having Tristin around had certainly had its perks, one being that Rory didn't have to take the bus anymore allowing them at least another twenty minutes sleep in the morning. However, since Tristin was no longer in Stars Hollow she had promised Rory a ride to school that morning, and that meant having to get up early. She got dressed and walked downstairs expecting to find a wide awake and already dressed Rory in the kitchen but found nothing. She knocked on Rory's door and found that room empty. Lorelai sighed, knowing exactly where Rory was and headed up the stairs. She opened the door to Tristin's room and found Rory curled into a ball her arms wrapped tightly around Tristin's pillows. Her heart broke at the sight of her daughter so miserable, but also at the fact that there was nothing she could do about it. She walked over to Rory and shook her gently. "Ror?" When no sound came from Rory she shook her a little harder. "Rory, come on honey, you have to wake up. You have school in a little while."

Rory groaned and rolled over her eyes slowly opening. "Mom?" she asked quietly

Lorelai smiled sadly. "Yeah Ror. It's me. Come on You need to go downstairs and get dressed for school. We have to leave soon if you want to get to school early."

Rory nodded but showed no sign of moving. "Mommy?"

"Yeah sweets, what is it?"

"Tristin leaving, was it my fault? I mean did I do something wrong? Did something that I did cause this, for him to leave?" Rory said sadly tears spilling from her eyes

Lorelai's heart crushed and she sat down pulling Rory into her arms. "No, sweetheart no. You didn't cause this. This isn't your fault. You need to talk to Tristin."

"He won't return my calls." she said through sobs

"He just needs some time to cool off hun, He'll come around. Now get up and get dressed." she said sweetly

Rory nodded and got up headed downstairs. Twenty minutes later Rory came out fully dressed. Her eyes were still puffy and red from crying and she felt awful. "You ready to go Mom?"

Lorelai nodded and pushed her out the door. "Luke's and then school."

xxxxxx

Rory entered Chilton and went straight for the direction of her locker. She knew people were noticing that she had not come with Tristin this morning and she knew that he was already there since she had seen his car in the parking lot. When she got to her locker she saw that Madeline and Louise were already standing there waiting for her. "Madeline, Louise, what can I do for you?"

"Rumor is Tristin moved out." Louise said

Rory opened her locker to shield her face form Louise's prying eyes as her eyes glistened over with tears. "Not now Louise."

"It's just we noticed that you didn't come to school with him this morning." Madeline said her voice sounding more worried than Louise

Rory took a deep breath and quickly wiped the tears from her face. She shut her locker and looked back at the two girls her face full of confidence. "It's fine. We didn't have a fight or anything. Now I have a class to get to." she said and then turned and walked off

xxxxxx

Lunch approached faster than she had expected it to. Tristin had been doing a fantastic job of avoiding her all day and Jake had refused to talk about Tristin at all. She looked around the cafeteria her eyes immediately finding Tristin, his eyes locking with hers for a few seconds. He broke the gaze and forced a smile on his face. Rory sighed and sat down at an empty table. She was alone for about ten minutes when Paris sat down. "I know this isn't going to sound like me, mainly because I'm not really that much of a "girl friend" but are you ok? You seem a little upset."

Rory's eyes flitted back over to Tristin who was looking at her. She turned her gaze back to Paris. "I'm fine."

Paris nodded slowly. "You're lying."

"What?"

"Tristin moved out. Your eyes are read and puffy so I know you've been crying. You've been avoiding human contact all day and barely spoken a word to Jake. You haven't gotten a single answer right all morning, no matter what the teacher asks. I'm not stupid Rory I know you're not ok."

Rory started to tell Paris everything when Jake sat down and kissed her on the cheek. "Hey babe."

Paris rolled her eyes and walked off mumbling a quick, "This discussion isn't over Gilmore."

"Did I interrupt something?" Jake asked

Rory shook her head. "No."

"Are you ok?"

"No."

"No?"

"No. I'm not." Rory said making eye contact with Tristin, who was watching them with avid interest

"Why not?" Jake asked

Rory still not breaking eye contact with Tristin said, "Tristin moved out."

"I don't want to talk about him Ror."

Rory's head whipped around fast. "You asked what was wrong. I was telling you what was wrong."

"And all I'm saying is I don't want to talk about him. You're my girlfriend, not his." Jake said his voice raising

Rory noticing that they had started drawing attention to the two of them. "Don't you yell at me! I am so sick of boyfriends who yell at me! I am not some door mat!" Rory yelled drawing even more people's attention, including Tristin

"Rory..."

"No, shut up! I want to know what you know about Tristin leaving!" Rory yelled causing everyone to look at them and Tristin to start walking over toward her

"What makes you think that I know anything about that?"

"Because he said you did!"

"And you believe everything he says!"

"Why would he lie!"

"To break us up!"

"I'm my own person. I make my own decisions. I don't rely on him to make them for me!"

Jake was about to say something when Rory whipped around facing away from him.

"Mary. Come on, don't do this here." Tristin said grabbing her arm

"Let me go Tristin." Rory said

"Rory, you're causing a scene." Jake said

"You know this whole thing is your fault, I suggest you shut up." Tristin said through gritted teeth before turning his attention back to Rory. "Come on Mary, leave with me now before this gets worse and I'll tell you everything." Tristin said his voice pleading

"No. I'm not going anywhere, and neither are either of you."

"Excuse me?" Jake said

"I want to know the truth. I want to know everything."

"Which is a conversation that I don't need to be here for." Tristin said before walking away

Rory stood watching Tristin walk away her mouth open, her jaw hanging Her back still to Jake he couldn't see her eyes filling with tears. "Well now that he's gone, we should get back to our lunch." Jake said as if nothing had just happened

Rory turned around her eyes filled with anger and tears. She opened her mouth to say something but the words wouldn't form. She turned around and stormed out of the cafeteria.

xxxxxx

Paris watched the whole thing with intense interest. Something was going on and she knew now that Rory wasn't the one to ask, since she was clueless as to what had happened. The second she saw Rory leave she looked over at Jake who was standing there with a stupid smirk on his face. She ran out after Rory but once she left the cafeteria she decided to focus on Tristin. She headed in the direction of Tristin's next class when she saw him. Greg Dugrey talking with Headmaster Charleston, and suddenly it all made sense. Her search for Tristin ended soon when she found him standing by Rory's locker. "I saw your dad." Paris said to Tristin before he even noticed that she was there

"Lucky you." Tristin said walking away from Rory's locker

"Rory doesn't know he's back does she?" Paris asked

"Not unless Jake told her."

"Why haven't you told her?" Paris asked

Tristin shook his head. "I told her to ask her boyfriend why I had to leave. It's not my fault if he won't answer her questions."

"Why would Jake know... oh... I get it." Paris said

"Yeah."

"Jake called your father and told him where you were."

"Yeah. He wanted me away from Rory."

"So he called your father and told him everything that's been going on."

"Including all the fights I've been in lately."

"Tristin, what aren't you telling me?"

Tristin looked at Paris and sighed. "You're far too inquisitive for your own good Paris. There is nothing else." Tristin said. He turned around to walk away and stopped mid-stride. "Rory. How much of that did you hear?"

"Every word." Rory said turning around and walking faster than she had ever walked before that couldn't be considered running back in the direction of the cafeteria.

"Damn it." Tristin said running after her

AN: Read and Review


	39. Let's Go Home

Chapter Thirty Seven: Let's Go Home

Rory yanked the cafeteria door open and began searching for Jake. She found him and walked straight over to him. He looked down at her and smiled. Her didn't even notice her raise her hand until her open palm connected with his face. "What in the hell Rory?"

"You son of a bitch! Who in the hell do you think you are!" she yelled immediately catching the entire cafeteria's attention.

"Rory...what are you..."

"How could you do this? Why would call him?"

"Who?"

"Tristin's dad! Why would you call him!"

"Rory..."

"I can't believe you could do this to him, to me."

"To you? I didn't do anything to you. Sure I called his dad, I won't lie about that and I didn't lie when Tristin asked me about it either, but that had nothing to do with you..."

"Rory come on. Come with me." Tristin said interrupting him

Rory turned around and faced him her eyes brimming with tears. She looked back at Jake. "We're done. I've had it with insecure boys who are jealous of my friendship with him. You stay the hell away from me." She told him and then looked back at Tristin. Once Jake was gone she let loose at Tristin. "Why didn't you tell me!"

"Rory..." Tristin started a little confused by the anger that was being directed at you

"I spent an entire weekend miserable. So scared that I had done something wrong, something to make you leave me. I slept in your room! You wouldn't return my phone calls, you wouldn't tell me what was wrong..." she yelled

"Mary..."

"Don't you Mary me, you jerk!"

"Ror..." he said reaching out and grabbing her arm

She pulled away from him like she had been burned. "Don't touch me." she spat out before turning on her heels and running from the cafeteria.

Paris looked at Tristin who looked like he might cry. "Tristin?"

Tristin turned around and followed after Rory, but once he got into the hallway she was nowhere to be found.

xxxxxx

"I can't get a hold of my mom... can you please come and get me... thank you... bye."

xxxxxx

Tristin was standing on the front steps of Chilton watching Rory climb into Luke's truck. He felt awful. She was right. He should have told her the second it all happened, but he didn't want to be that guy. He didn't want to have to be the one that told her that Jake had been lying and going behind her back, conspiring against her and Tristin's friendship. He didn't want to have to be the one to see her face fall when she found out what Jake had been up to. "She leaves me and still doesn't want you. That has to say something about you now doesn't it Tristin?" Jake said from behind him

Tristin sighed and then took a deep breath. "I suggest you get away from me now Jake."

"Threats. How common."

"I'm not playing games with you here boy. Did you see the way she looked at you? Absolute disgust."

"And the way she pulled away from you like she had been burned? Yeah Tristin. Keep telling yourself that you're important to her. You're not."

Tristin clenched his fists and took slow deep breaths determined not to lose his temper and not to hit the pathetic excuse for a human being that was standing in front of him, especially since his father was on campus. "Jake you don't want to go down this road with me right now... I don't care that you called my father, I understand why you did that, I can even forgive it, but you hurt her and that I am less than forgiving about."

"Tristin?" came a voice from behind them

"Stay away from her." Tristin threw at Jake before turning around and facing Paris. "Let's go." Tristin said leading Paris and himself away from Jake.

xxxxxx

Rory had been silent the entire way back from Hartford and was now sitting in Luke's truck next to Luke in front of the diner trying to think of a way to break the silence. "Thanks for the ride Luke."

Luke nodded. "Anytime Ror. You must have found out why Tristin left." Luke said after a long minute

"You knew?" Rory asked him her eyes wide

"Yeah, it wasn't my place to tell you though. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you."

"It's ok. I understand. I wish Tristin would have told me though."

Luke nodded. "This whole thing was pretty hard on him. He didn't want to leave but he didn't have a choice."

Rory nodded and then looked at her watch. "I think I'm going to head over the Inn and talk to Mom. She should be out of her meeting by now. Thanks again for the ride."

"You're welcome."

It took Rory forty five minutes to walk to the Inn. Normally it would have only taken around twenty but she walked slower than what could be considered aimless wondering. She walked in and was immediately met by Michele. "What are you doing here you insufferable child? Shouldn't you be at school?"

"Hi Michele. Have you seen my Mom?"

"With Sookie." He muttered before walking off

Rory walked into the kitchen and Lorelai handed her a piece of chocolate cake. "What do you know?"

"Jake called Tristin's dad and told him where he was and that he'd been fighting in school and at Madeline's party."

"You knew about that?"

"The fight at the party?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah. I didn't tell you about it?"

"No. Anyway, what happened at school today honey?"

Rory sighed and sat down. She took a bite of her cake and then told Lorelai everything. "He was avoiding me all day but every time we were in the same room our eyes would lock. Lunch was bad Mom. I got into it with Jake. We were yelling at each other and Tristin comes up from behind me and he's trying to get me to go outside with him because I'm embarrassing myself..."

"He told you that you were embarrassing yourself?"

"No. But I knew that I was. Anyway I refused to leave until someone told me the truth. Jake wouldn't say a word and Tristin walked out. Jake said something smart and I got pissed off and walked out. I come up behind Tristin and Paris who are at my locker talking and he tells her that Jake called his dad and told him about the fights and where he was living. Paris says that he's not saying everything, and I believe that but Tristin shuts her down and then turns to walk away, not knowing that I've heard everything. He saw me and ran after me when I headed back into the cafeteria to confront Jake. Jake confessed to it all and I told him to stay the hell away from me..."

"What about Tristin?"

"He reached out and touched me, but I was so angry with him. He should have told me right away, he made me sit there all weekend miserable and crying. I thought I had done something wrong and that all of you were just appeasing me and telling me that it wasn't because of me... Anyway I was so mad that when he reached out at me I called him a jerk, told him not to touch me and ran off. I don't even know if he followed me. I tried calling you and you were in some meeting so I called Luke and he came and got me."

Lorelai looked over at her daughter and saw a crushed scared little girl. "Honey..." she said pulling her into her arms, "Let's go home."

AN: Ok… so I know it's short and I'm sorry… but I've hit some writers block after this… I know where the story is going to end and the end may be coming up I'm not sure yet….


	40. That's Crazy

Chapter Thirty Eight: That's Crazy

The rest of the week was uneventful. Rory avoided Tristin like the plague Tuesday and Tristin didn't show up for school the rest of the week. Until Friday. She saw him standing by her locker and took a deep breath while walking over to her locker. She opened it up ignoring him and put her books in it. When she shut the door and noticed he was still on the other side. He was smiling at her and she couldn't help but smile back. "Why haven't you been in school all week?" she asked while walking towards the cafeteria

"Noticed my absence Mary?" Tristin said following after her

"Don't get all cocky, everyone's noticed your absence. People are taking it out on me." she snapped. "All you little friends hate me even more than they already did." she said stopping in front of the cafeteria doors

"No one hates you Rory." He said

Rory watched Duncan walk up and pass her glaring. "Duncan hates me..."

"Because Duncan couldn't control his mouth and I beat the hell out him for it." Tristin finished for her loudly acknowledging that Duncan could still hear him

Rory saw Summer eyeing the two of them from her locker. "Summer hates me..."

"Because she's a jealous whore who doesn't like the way I look at you." he said loudly but not quite loud enough for Summer to hear.

"You hate me..."

"I could never hate you Rory." Tristin said softly, "I'm not even mad at you. You're mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you. I'm hurt. You hurt me. You didn't trust me enough to tell me what was going on. You didn't trust me enough to know that all you had to do was tell me that you didn't like Jake and he would have been removed from our lives." Rory yelled

"Don't you understand that I didn't want it that way? I didn't want to be the reason you don't date. If you liked Jake I wanted you to be happy. I just want you to be happy." Tristin yelled back

"I was happy before Jake!" Rory yelled, "I was happy with you!"

Tristin looked at her slightly shocked. "What does that mean Rory?"

"I don't know." she said throwing her arms up in frustration and started to walk away

Tristin grabbed her arm stopping her from moving. "You can't say that to me and then walk away. What do you mean Rory?" Tristin said loudly not caring that they were drawing a crowd

Rory however did care. "Tristin people are staring..."

"Let them. They don't matter to me. All I care about right now is finding out what you meant by that."

"I just meant that I was happy before I met Jake. I don't need to be dating someone to make me happy. You should have told me what he did." Rory yelled

Tristin shook his head. "I don't believe you. That's not what you meant Rory. Tell me the truth."

"I am telling you the truth Tristin. I was happy having you as a friend. Being your friend made me happy."

"Is that all that we were Mary? Friends? Because it felt like more to me..." Tristin yelled

"Of course it was Tristin. We were friends!"

"But was that all!" he yelled then lowered his voice and said only to her, "We almost kissed at that party. I wanted to kiss you and you wanted to kiss me. I know it."

Rory looked down her face flushed. She looked at her watch and noticed that the bell was about to ring in ten minutes. "I don't have time for this Tristin. My class starts in ten minutes and I still have to meet Paris in the newsroom." she said trying to walk away

Tristin grabbed at her again. "Rory damn it! Don't walk away from me. We need to talk about this!" he yelled only to have her rip her arm from his grasp and walk away

Tristin watched her walk away and turn into the newsroom. He turned around and looked at the crowd that had drawn behind him. Bowman was smiling widely at him. "What!" he snapped

"Nothing man. It's just refreshing, is all. Watching Gilmore turn you down every single time."

Tristin's fist clenched and unclenched as his anger grew. "Back off Bowman."

"I just think it's funny. I mean you pound on one of your best friends for her and she still doesn't want you."

"Even if I never date her she's still my friend and Duncan should learn to watch what he says about her. If he had half a brain he would have learned that lesson months ago and I wouldn't have had to hit more than once. Now back off!" Tristin snapped and then walked off leaving behind a mute crowd.

xxxxxx

"What is your problem Gilmore?" Paris snapped as Rory threw her book bag on the desk

"Nothing." Rory said bitingly

"I'm not buying that Gilmore! There's a reason I'm a shoe in for valedictorian you know. I'm not stupid." Paris said rudely

"Drop it Paris." Rory said loudly laying her head down on the desk and patiently awaited class to start

Paris watched as Tristin sauntered up to Rory's desk and stood in front of it. She saw Tristin sigh as Rory ignored him and sit down behind her. He took the same position that Rory took, head down on the desk tuning out everyone around them.

xxxxxx

Class ended and Rory quickly put her stuff back in bag and tried to rush out of the room. Paris noticed this and sucked in a breath and Tristin reached out and grabbed hold of Rory's arm. "Rory please."

Rory hesitated for a second and then turned to look at Paris who was standing there patiently awaiting some kind of reaction. "Paris…"

Paris nodded. "I'm leaving."

Rory turned around and looked at Tristin. "You have five minutes and then I have to go to my next class." She said softly

Tristin nodded. "Can we restart the conversation we were having in the hallway earlier?"

Rory nodded.

"The truth is that I had to leave. It wasn't a choice that I made. It was the effect of something that your boyfriend did."

"Why didn't you tell me what Jake had done?" Rory asked anger pouring from her voice

"I don't know."

"That's not really good enough Tristin. You have no idea what I felt like that weekend. I thought it had done something wrong. Something to make you hate me and that's why you left. You made me feel like an idiot in front of everyone when I found out the truth." Rory said then added, "Screw the five minutes. I'm leaving."

Tristin grabbed at her before she could walk too far away. "No. Stop. Look Rory. I'm sorry that I didn't come to you as soon as I found out what Jake had done. I tried to handle it on my own. I never wanted to leave your house but my father made it impossible for me to fight him at all."

"How?"

"He was going after you and your family. He threatened to have your mom arrested for kidnapping and failure to return a minor if I didn't come home. He even had the paperwork drawn up and sent to her. I couldn't stay. I couldn't endanger your family life. I refused to be the reason your mom ended up hurt."

Rory sat in stunned silence for a brief moment and then began shaking her head. "We could have fought it. We could have got a lawyer and…"

"And the outcome wouldn't be any different."

"You could have been emancipated…"

"And have nothing. I would have had to drop out of Chilton. I would have become a burden on your family and I refused to let that happen."

Rory looked at Tristin. "You would stay there for the money?" she asked incredulously

"No. I could care less if the jackass cut me off. He could have it all I don't care. But contrary to popular belief school actually is important to me. I'm in the top five percent of our class along with you and Paris. Chilton is going to get me into a college far away from him."

"How far?" Rory asked her voice slightly shaking at the thought of him not being near.

"Like Stanford far." Tristin answered

"California?" she choked out. "Why California?"

"It's all the way across the country." Tristin said calmly

"Oh." She said calmly

Tristin noticed that she wasn't reacting the news of him attending Stanford well. "And it's a good school."

Rory nodded. "Max teaches there."

"Max?"

"Mr. Medina."

"Oh. That's right your mom dated him didn't she?"

"They were engaged." Rory said gesturing for the door.

Tristin grabbed his bag and started walking with her realizing she was going to be late for her class if they didn't leave now. "Really? How come they didn't follow through and get married?"

Rory frowned slightly and walked over to her locker. "Mom chickened out at the last minute."

"Lorelai doesn't seem like the kind to chicken out." He said taking her books and placing them in her bag.

"Well she did. At her bachelorette party. She decided that she was still in love with my dad." She said closing her locker and walking towards her class.

Tristin nodded in acknowledgement. "Is this painful for you talk about?"

"No." Rory said shaking her head. "It was at first. I mean I was really looking forward to him being my stepfather. He's an amazing guy and he really loved my mom. More than my dad ever did I think. Paris found out right away of course and went out of her way to rub it in my face."

"That's Paris for you. She finds your Achilles heal and goes after it."

"I think she was still mad about the whole you telling her that I was going to the concert with you on the same day I told them all I wasn't going to date you."

Tristin's heart dropped slightly at how easily she said she wasn't going to date him. He looked up at her and smiled though. "Yeah, sorry about that."

Rory nodded. "It's fine." She stopped in front of a door and smiled at him. "This is my class."

"Right. I guess it is." He said looking into her history class seeing two empty seats left. One next to Jake and one on the other side of the room far away from him. "And you better get in there before you have to sit next to Jake." He added smiling.

Rory nodded and walked into the room. Tristin started walking down the hallway only to be stopped by Rory's voice. "Tristin!" she yelled out to a still busy hallway

"Yeah Mare?" he called out smiling

"Meet me for lunch?" she asked hopefully

Tristin grinned widely. "Does this mean you love me again?"

Rory rolled her eyes. "Yes or no Dugrey?"

"Of course sweetheart." He said to her before turning around with the biggest smile he had ever worn on his face and headed into his own classroom.

xxxxxx

Rory walked into her class and looked at Paris. "Thank you for putting my books over here. I really didn't want to sit next to Jake and…"

"And you wanted to finish talking to Tristin?"

Rory blushed slightly. "Yeah."

Paris nodded. "What's going on with you two?"

Rory smiled. "You feeling all right Paris? That sounded oddly like you wanting to gossip."

"Shut up Gilmore. I'm just curious. This morning you two were screaming at each other in the hallway and now your walking to class together and being all sweet . It's kind of sickening."

"How did you know about our fight in the hallway you weren't there?"

"You'd be hard pressed to find someone who didn't know about your fight in the hallway this morning. Summer's been talking about it for the last ten minutes in here , I imagine she's been talking about it all morning." Paris said and then muttered, "Conniving whore." under her breath

"Everything's fine now. We're friends again. I didn't have all the facts before. But now I do and I understand why he did almost everything that he did."

"Almost everything?"

"Almost. I'm still not clear on why he didn't tell me about Jake."

"Maybe because he didn't want to sound like a jealous guy who wanted you to dump your boyfriend and date him." Paris said

Rory quickly dismissed it. "That's crazy Paris."

Paris started to say something but then the teacher started the class. She turned her attention to her History teacher but kept thinking. _My lord that girl is naïve_.

AN: Sorry for the extremely long awaited update… I had serious writer's block … in fact I still kind of do.. review please.


	41. You Know That We Didn't

Chapter Thirty Nine: You Know That We Didn't

Tristin's class dragged on an on. He was anxiously awaiting the bell signally the start of lunch. He knew that everything wasn't perfect again between him and Rory but he knew that with a little time things would be back to normal. Rory's accidental admission in the hallway that morning hadn't gone unnoticed by him, although he was still trying to figure out exactly what she had meant by the words 'I was happy with you'. The little spot in his heart that had been hopeful, that never wanted to give up on the dream that someday she would love him back the way he loved her had soared when he heard her scream at him this morning. The same little spot in his heart that had began beating as fast as a freight train rejoiced when she never denied that she had wanted to kiss him at Madeline's party. He looked up at the clock on the wall and then back down at his watch to confirm that the time on the wall was indeed correct and that he still had at least another thirty five minutes until he could have lunch with Rory. He sighed and his head fell down onto the desk only to pop back up immediately when he heard, "Am I boring you Mr. Dugrey?"

"No not at all Mr. Reynolds." Tristin replied coolly

"Then can you inform me as to why your head is down and you aren't doing what the rest of the class is and taking notes on my lecture? Or perhaps you'd care to explain it to Headmaster Charleston."

Tristin shook his head slightly. "No sir. I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"See that it doesn't." Mr. Reynolds replied and then continued his lecture. He looked back up at the clock. Thirty minutes to go.

xxxxxx

Rory looked at the clock impatiently. There were ten minutes left until lunch and they were passing extremely slowly. She looked over at Paris who was writing faster than normal and smiled slightly. When everything was hectic she knew she could count on Paris to stay the same. She turned her attention to Louise who was shamelessly flirting with Austin, who looked as if he was reciprocating Louise's feelings very well. She turned to look at Summer who was glaring at Louise and Austin while Jake tried to get her attention. Summer was ignoring him and Rory could tell from the expression on Jake's face that he was beginning to grow frustrated. She watched as Summer finally turned around and looked Jake straight in the face and whispered loudly, "I will not go out with you. Stop begging, it's pathetic." Before Rory should suppress it a laugh slipped from her lips. "Something amusing Ms. Gilmore?"

"No Mrs. Hensen. I'm sorry." Rory said immediately earning a snicker from Jake's mouth

"How about you Mr. Ryan? Something funny on that side of the room?"

"No mam. Nothing funny over here."

"Then perhaps we can get back to my lesson."

Rory sighed. Seven minutes.

xxxxxx

Tristin practically leapt out of his seat when the bell rang. Madeline looked at him and laughed. "Anxious to get to lunch Tristin?"

"Absolutely."

"How long are the two of you going to dance around each other before you finally admit how you feel to each other?" she asked curiously

"What are you talking about Lynn?"

"It just seems like lunch with Rory would be slightly uncomfortable ever since the fight in the hallway this morning."

"How did you know that I was having lunch with Rory?"

"Louise sent me a text about twenty minutes ago." Madeline said as if it should have been common knowledge

"Oh. Well lunch with Rory isn't going to be uncomfortable."

"Maybe uncomfortable wasn't the right word but you can't just pretend that everything has gone back to normal can you?"

"Not having lunch with Rory, not spending time with Rory, not talking to Rory all of those things were torture. Anything has to be better than that." Tristin said unfazed by the obvious uncertainty in his voice

Madeline smirked at Tristin. "If it makes you feel any better Louise also said that Rory was pretty antsy about it too."

"What do you mean?"

"She just said that Rory was fidgeting constantly and kept staring up at the clock. Just like you." Madeline added smiling widely at Tristin before sauntering out the classroom

Tristin groaned and headed for his locker so that he could meet Rory at hers.

xxxxxx

The bell rang and Rory nearly leapt out of her chair. "Anxious much?" came a voice from across the room

Rory turned in the direction and saw Summer standing there looking at her expectantly. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me Gilmore? Tell me how long is it going to take our boy to turn Chilton's Mary into a Magdalene?" Summer asked snippily

Rory cocked her head in Summer's direction, a smile slipping onto her face slowly. A frown appeared on Summer's instantly. "You know what you sound like Summer?"

"What's that?" Summer asked

"A jealous ex-girlfriend, that's what. It's pathetic, and pitiful." she said mirroring Summer's earlier words to Jake

"I'm not jealous of you. Why would I ever be jealous of you?"

Rory rolled her eyes. "Well... for starters talking to me doesn't make Tristin's stomach turn." she said before turning on her heels and walking out of the room towards her locker. She groaned when she got there and saw that instead of Tristin waiting for her, Jake was. "What do you want Jake?" she asked her voice full of anger

Jake sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Look Ror, I know that you're angry with me and I'm sure that you have every right to be but,"

"You're right I do. I have every right to be angry with you." Rory snapped opening her locker almost slamming it into his face in the process

"You can't stay mad at me forever."

"Watch me. I can hold a grudge like no one else."

"I've heard all about you and your grudges. You hated Paris when you first got here. There were fights in the classrooms and everything, and now you two are friends. You and Tristin, never got along before and now you both act as if you can't live without the other..."

"And you don't think that trying to take someone that according to you I can't live without from me is enough to make me want you out of my life for good?" Rory asked slamming her locker shut

"Look I understand what I did to you..."

"And Tristin." Rory added

"You and Tristin. What I did to you and Tristin was wrong but..."

"What exactly is it that you want from me Jake?" Rory snapped

"Yeah Jake, what is it that you want from her?" came Tristin's voice from behind Rory

Jake watched as Rory's face lit up before turning to face Tristin. A slight frown grazed his face as he watched Rory and Tristin look at each other for a brief second before Tristin looked back up at him. "I don't want anything from her Dugrey. I just wanted to talk to her."

Tristin positioned himself behind Rory. "Well here she is. Talk."

Jake looked at Rory and could tell she was still far to angry to have the conversation he wanted to have, but he knew that he wouldn't get another opportunity so he dove in. "I just wanted to apologize for my part in what happened."

Rory's eyes widened slightly. "Your part?"

"Yes. My part." Jake said slightly confused

"There was no 'your part' in what happened last week. It was your fault entirely. You should have never gotten involved in Tristin's relationship with his family. I told you over and over again to stay out of Tristin's business. I told you that nothing was going on romantically between me and Tristin. I told you that you had absolutely no right to be jealous of him. You never listened to a word I said..."

"That's because I'm not blind nor stupid Rory." Jake snapped interrupting her

"And just what is that supposed to mean?"

"You say over and over again that nothing was going on between you two, but what you don't see is the way you two look at each other. You're an idiot Rory if you think that..." Jake started

Tristin was sitting there listening to them argue and hadn't said a word until he had called her an idiot, "This talk you're wanting to have Ryan is going to end really damn soon if you don't watch the way you talk to her." Tristin said through gritted teeth

Jake sighed and pulled Rory out of earshot with Tristin.. "I'm sorry. You're not an idiot Rory. I just mean that you're ignoring what's there between the two of you and everyone else sees it. Now I'll apologize for the way I handled myself and the situation, but I will not apologize for feeling threatened. We were dating Rory and you never once looked at me the way you looked just now when he came up from behind you. My voice has never made you smile that way."

"I don't know..."

"What I'm talking about. I know I know. But you will. Eventually you'll realize that everything everyone is telling you is right. That you and Tristin are more than just friends. For his sake I hope it's sooner rather than later, because he's already realized it and he's just waiting for you."

"Jake..."

"I really am sorry, you know." Jake said sounding slightly sad

Rory simply nodded and watched as he walked away. She smiled as Tristin walked up and threw his arm around her shoulder leading her towards the cafeteria. "So…"

"He apologized." Rory said plainly

"And…"

"And that's it."

"What did he say to you that he couldn't say in front of me?" Tristin asked curiously

"Nothing." Rory said shaking his head, "I think you were making him nervous. That's all."

Tristin nodded although he didn't believe her. "So… lunch?"

Rory nodded. "Lunch."

xxxxxx

Rory knew that everyone would be watching her and Tristin as they entered the cafeteria together and she wasn't let down. The second he opened the door for her and led her inside all eyes turned to them and remained on them the entire ten minutes that Rory sat in the cafeteria. After ten minutes she decided that she couldn't take they prying eyes anymore and had to get out of the cafeteria. Tristin followed her out into the hallway. "Rory…"

"Look I am aware that I brought this on myself but this is ridiculous Tristin! They are all staring at me. At us!" Rory said panicky

Tristin laughed slightly and then when he saw the look she threw him he quickly stopped and added, "I'm sorry."

"I'm glad you think that this is so funny Bible Boy."

"It's just you always do this. People give you more than one look and you're panicking. It's not that big of a deal. Although I am still trying to figure out why you this you brought this on yourself."

"Because we keep having these huge blowout fights and make ups in the hallways. Everyone is always talking about us, and by fighting with you where they can all hear is promoting it." Rory yelled loudly causing people to stare at them. Tristin reached out and grabbed her by the arm dragging her out of the hallway. "What's the point in dragging me out the hallway, people are staring and spying on us all the time no matter where we go!" she yelled while he dragged her away. Tristin turned his head looking down each end of the hallway before opening a door and pushing her in it. "Tristin what in the hell are you doing?" Rory yelped at the force he put in shoving her into the janitor's closet.

"You're calming down. That's what we're doing, You were concerned with people staring at us. No one can see us in here." Tristin said smugly

Rory laughed. "No you're right they can't see us. Now they are just going to think that we were making out in here or something."

Tristin took one look at Rory and laughed. He couldn't help but think how beautiful she looked when she was all fired up. Tristin leaned close to her ear and said huskily "You know Mary, all year last year I couldn't think of anything other than pushing you in this closet and making out with you."

His voice that close to her ear caused shivers to go down her spine and she couldn't help but notice how good he smelled. "Well banish the idea from your brain Dugrey. It's not going to happen." she said unconvincingly

Tristin picked up on the apprehension in her voice and smirked. "This conversation is making you uncomfortable isn't it." He asked quietly

"No not at all." Rory said her voice unstable and shaky

Tristin groaned. "Are you calm now? Are you going to freak out the second we walk out of here again drawing attention to us which in turn upsets you even more?"

Rory took a deep breath. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Tristin asked smiling at her. When she nodded he smiled. "Ok you go first. I'll be out in a few minutes. You want a ride home?"

"You don't have to do that." Rory said

"No Mary. I don't have to take you home, but I will. Do you want a ride home?" Tristin said smiling

"Yeah."

"Ok. I'll meet you after your last class by the lockers." Tristin told her just as the bell rang to end lunch. "Go. Or you'll be late."

Rory nodded and walked out the closet and ran smack into Paris. "Never thought I'd see you sulking out of the janitor's closet Gilmore." Paris said laughing

"Not funny Paris." Rory snapped and stormed off towards her class.

Paris stood by the door for a few more minutes and smiled when Tristin came out. "You and Rory have a secret rendezvous in the janitor's closet?"

Tristin looked at Paris for a long second. "You know that we didn't." he said softly

AN: Read and Review….


	42. Perfect

Chapter Forty: Perfect

Tristin stood by Rory's locker and waited on her to come out of her last class. He felt someone tap him on the shoulder and he groaned when he turned around and saw Jake. "What do you want Ryan?" he asked angrily

Jake held up his hands in defense. "Relax Dugrey, I just want to talk to you."

"About what?"

"Rory." Jake said calmly

Tristin chuckled slightly before looking Jake in the eyes and saying "No."

"Tristin…"

"I said no."

"I just…"

"I said no." he said through gritted teeth. "Now go away."

"If you're in love with her…" Jake started

"Jake." He said angrily

Jake sighed. "Do something about it."

"Excuse me?" Tristin asked confusion dripping from his mouth

"If you're in love with her do something about it. She loves you too." Jake said sighing

"Why are you telling me this?" Tristin asked

Jake sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Look, here's the thing. I really did care about Rory. She was important to me. I know that you don't believe that since I did what I did to you, but it's the truth. I care about her. And I want to see her happy. Now I can't do that for her. I can't make her happy, but you do. You make her happy. She loves you. She may not see it yet, or who knows she may just be ignoring it because she's scared. Because honestly let's face it. That's Rory. She's scared and she runs. But she loves you. And if you love her, you need to do something about it. Because once she runs, and I mean really runs, you may not be able to get her back." Jake said before walking away

xxxxxx

Rory saw Jake walk away from Tristin and started walking faster towards him. "What was that about?"

Tristin shook himself out of the confused daze Jake had left him in and turned to face her. "Nothing. Just Jake being Jake."

Rory nodded slowly, not believing him. "You ready to go?" she asked while depositing her books in her locker

Tristin nodded. "Yeah. Let's go." he said as she shut her locker. He grabbed the books she had taken out and carried them out leaving her slightly stunned as following behind him to his car.

xxxxxx

Halfway to Stars Hollow Tristin looked over at her and smiled. She was singing happily with the radio that he had left on a station that he hated for the sole reason that she loved it. As he watched her head bob along with the music he couldn't help but sing along with the song he knew only because she had had it stuck in her head for over a week at the beginning of the month. She had walked around the house singing it at the top of her lungs when she thought he wasn't there. The song went off and he looked over at her for a brief second before turning the radio off and facing all of his attention to the road. He counted down in his head…_ 3…2…1_

"Why'd you turn the radio off?" she said

He laughed. "What are the chances you can get out of Friday Night Dinner?"

She looked at him pensively for a moment. "Depends."

"On what?"

"On why I'm getting out of it." Rory replied obviously

"I want to take you somewhere tonight."

"You want to take me somewhere?"

"Yes."

"Well that's nice and vague." Rory said laughing. She stopped laughing and looked at him seriously. "Why?"

"So curious. It's like you think I have ulterior motives." He said a little taken aback by the question

"No. But getting me out of Friday Night Dinner will be a lot easier if I have all the details." She said defensively

"I just want to go out tonight and I couldn't think of anyone else that I would want to go out with tonight. We can celebrate our reconciliation."

Rory nodded. "OK I'll see what I can do." She said as they pulled into her driveway

"Great. Call me when you know." Tristin said reaching behind him and getting her books

Rory pouted slightly but hid it before he noticed. "You aren't coming in?"

He smiled when he heard the sadness in her voice at the fact that she wanted him to stay. "I can't. I have some things to do tonight before I pick you up."

Rory nodded. "OK I'll call you in a little bit."

"Bye Mary." Tristin said and then backed out of the driveway.

xxxxxx

Lorelai walked in two hours later to see her daughter throwing clothes out of Lorelai's closet. She cleared her throat loudly and then giggled as she watched Rory leap out of her skin. "What are you doing?" Lorelai sing-songed

"I need a favor." Rory stated after she calmed down and begin to resume her previous activity

"If it involves anything in that closet, I think you've pretty much got it covered babe."

"I need you to get me out of dinner with the grandparents."

Lorelai scoffed. "Sure Rory. Let me get me on that right now. I'll put aside all of my other plans like single-handedly fixing the hole in the ozone layer, saving the world from hunger and poverty, you know the ones that I can most likely do to attempt getting you out of dinner with the grandparents."

"Mom." Rory said groaning from inside the closet "Please."

"Why?" Lorelai asked curiously

"I have plans with a friend tonight that I can't cancel."

"Can't or won't?" Lorelai asked raising her eyebrows

"Won't." Rory replied walking out of the closet with a boot in her hand, "Do you know where the match is to this shoe?"

"Downstairs by the fireplace." Lorelai said, "Who are you going out tonight?" she yelled as she watched Rory dart down the stairs. When Rory didn't answer her she ran down the stairs after her. "Rory honey if mommy's going to do the impossible she's going to need a reason.

Rory looked up about to answer her when the doorbell rang. Her eyes darted to the clock. "Damn him he's early." She said loudly "Mom get the door I need to finish getting dressed."

"Don't think Mommy has forgotten that I still don't know what's going on." Lorelai said while walking to the door. She opened it and a small gasp fell from her lips. "Tristin!"

"I know, I know. I'm early. I honestly thought there would be more traffic but there wasn't." He explained

Lorelai smiled widely at him "I'll be right back."

Tristin smiled back. "OK."

Lorelai took off towards Rory's room. "You have a date with Tristin and you didn't tell Mommy!" she asked excitedly

"It's not a date. We're celebrating our reconciliation. As of today me and Tristin are friends again."

"If it's not a date why is every outfit you own on your floor and every outfit I own on my floor? Why the sudden need to impress him?"

"I'm not trying to impress him. I just wanted to look nice."

Lorelai sighed. "I think it's a date. And if it's not I think it should be. I'll get you out of dinner somehow. Go and have fun." She said smiling at her

"Really?" Rory asked

"I think that it's great you and Tristin are talking again. You know I adore him."

"Thanks Mom." She told him kissing her on the cheek and walking out the bedroom. She walked into the living room and smiled at Tristin. "Hey."

Tristin smiled at her trying to force words to come out of his mouth at the sight of her. She was wearing a black skirt and blue sweater bringing out the blue in her eyes along with knee high black boots. "You look amazing."

Rory blushed. "Thanks. You ready to go?"

Tristin nodded. "Yeah let's go."

xxxxxx

Tristin led Rory out the door and stopped her when she headed for the car. "Don't need the car Mary."

"And why is that?" she asked curiously

"Because we're going to have an early dinner at Luke's. Than I thought we'd catch the double feature at the BWR then we could hit Fran's for desert afterwards. How does that sound?"

Rory smiled. "It sounds perfect."

AN: Read and Review people….


	43. We Aren't Going Anywhere

Chapter Forty One: We're Not Going Anywhere

Rory and Tristin were walking out of the BWR and into Fran's when they noticed they were being watched. Rory looked over at Dean refusing to let him ruin the mood she was in. "What?" she asked when Tristin walked over to the counter to order their desert.

"Awfully dressed up for a night in Stars Hollow with Tristin aren't you?" Dean asked jealously

"And if I said that I was awfully dressed up for a night in Stars Hollow with my boyfriend Tristin would you go away and leave us alone?" Rory asked saucily

"Is he your boyfriend?" Dean demanded

"He could be." Rory responded vaguely

Tristin walked up behind her. "Who could be what?"

Rory blushed. "Nothing. Dean was just leaving."

"No I wasn't. The conversation had just gotten interesting." Dean said noticing how embarrassed she was

"Dean go away." Rory demanded

"You heard the lady. Beat it." Tristin demanded

Dean nodded. "Hope you two have a great date, you can get a first hand account of what's like to be her boyfriend… completely unfulfilling." Dean said bitterly

Tristin. "Oh I don't know. Rory's pretty much perfect. I mean she's one hell of a kisser. Then again I doubt she ever kissed you the way she kisses me. You actually have to love someone to kiss them like that. And if I remember correctly Mary here never loved you. So of course she would be how did you put it...completely unfulfilling." Tristin said smiling and at the same time casually playing with Rory's hair

Dean rolled his eyes. "And I'm supposed to believe that she loves you?"

Tristin looked over at Rory and noticed that she was staring at the table uncomfortably. "You know what? It doesn't matter what you believe. You can think that me and Rory are in love and dating or you can think that we're not. It doesn't matter to me and it doesn't matter to her. Why don't you get over it and just leave and let us finish our night."

Dean scoffed. "I was here first, if anyone leaves it should be the two of you."

A waitress walked over and sat a large piece of pie in front of the two of them. Rory eagerly picked up her fork and took a bite of the pie. Smiling she looked up at Dean. "We're not going anywhere. Go away, I want to eat my pie and finish my date in peace."

"And..."

"And... if you don't back off I won't continue holding Tristin back and should he feel the need to hit you then so be it."

Dean scoffed but at the same time noticed that Tristin's expression was growing more and more threatening every second. "Fine." he snapped before turning on his heel and walking out of Fran's.

"I'm starting to become really annoyed by that."

"By what?" Tristin asked

"By the fact that he thinks he can just waltz through wherever I am and comment on who I'm with. It's aggravating that he thinks he has a say in who I date..."

"Is this a date?" Tristin interrupted suddenly his voice dripping with seriousness

Rory blushed. "Tris..."

"Because you said that Dean doesn't get to have a say in the matter on who you date..."

"I know..."

"And earlier you told him to go away so that you could finish your date in peace..."

"I just..."

"And I know that we never really talked about what tonight was but..."

"Tristin stop..." Rory said interrupting him, "I never said this was a date. I wanted Dean to go away and knew what I had to say to make him leave." Rory said assuming that he was uncomfortable with her thinking of the night as a date.

Tristin felt his heart drop into his stomach. He had really wanted for this to be a date. He wanted nothing more than to be with Rory. He simply nodded and then began to eat his half of the pie.

xxxxxx

Tristin walked with Rory up the stairs to the front door once they got back to her house. The rest of the night had been filled with comfortable silence but now they were standing at her front door staring into each other's eyes neither knowing what to say. Tristin could feel his grip on her hand and for the first time he noticed that sometime between Fran's and her home they had begun holding hands. A smile crept over his face and Tristin had to admit that he was thankful she had finally broken eye contact with him, because the urge to kiss her was getting stronger and stronger every second he was staring into the blue orbs that were her eyes.

"I had so much fun tonight Tristin. I'm so glad that we're friends again." Rory said uncomfortably while staring at the ground.

Tristin nodded and smiled at her the whole time hearing everyone's words ringing through his ears _If you love her do something about it (Jake)... I'm sure she'll come around eventually (Lorelai)... why don't you just tell her how you feel (Paris)_. Finally Tristin couldn't take it anymore. "Is that all we are?" he asked softly

Rory's head snapped upwards. "What?"

"Is that all that we are... friends?"

"What's wrong with us being friends? I thought you wanted us to be friends again."

Tristin ran a hand through his hair. "Nothing's wrong with us being friends. I want us to be friends. I can't even imagine my life without you in it. But what I want to know is is that all we are... friends."

"What else would we be Tristin?" Rory asked trying desperately to quell the voice that was screaming inside to tell him the truth... to tell him how she really felt.

Tristin's face dropped suddenly but he quickly recovered. "Nothing Rory, it was just a question. I just wanted to make sure we were both on the same page. Nothing romantic going on here. Just two friends." he rambled off quickly before stepping back and walking down the stairs. He was all the way back to his car when he turned around and yelled back to her. "I'll call you tomorrow."

He was half way down the driveway when Rory sat down on the step and began to silently cry for the loss of her closest friend, because she knew that tomorrow nothing would be the same.

AN: I know… it's incredibly short… and I'm sorry but this just seemed like a perfect place to end the chapter… read and review…


	44. Just Tell Me How You Feel

Chapter Forty Two: Just Tell Me How You Feel

"Stupid! Why would you even entertain the idea that maybe... just maybe the girl liked you!" Tristin yelled over the music at himself. He couldn't believe that he had set himself up like that. He had honestly believed that for one second for once in his life Rory Gilmore actually wanted to be with him. He had sat there and listened to Rory talk about him like he was her boyfriend when Dean was there and he had felt the glimmer of hope that maybe she felt the same way as him. Tristin cursed loudly before slamming on his brakes to avoid hitting the squirrel that had ran out in front of him.

xxxxxx

Lorelai walked out onto the porch to find her daughter crying. "What's wrong? What happened?" she asked frantically

Rory wiped the tears from her face forcefully and muttered "Nothing."

"I find you crying and it's nothing?"

Rory nodded. "Exactly it's nothing. I'm going to bed." she said getting up and walking inside with Lorelai fast on her heels. Rory, breaking all Gilmore Girl rules, practically ran into her room and shut the door behind her.

Lorelai slumped down next to the door against the wall and listened to Rory sob until it physically hurt her to listen any longer. She grabbed her keys and walked out of the house heading straight for the diner.

"We're closed." came Luke's voice from the back storage room

"Were Rory and Tristin in here tonight?" Lorelai blurted out causing Luke to come out of the storage room immediately

"Is everything alright!" he asked worry etched into his face

Lorelai nodded. "She's fine. Were they in here?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah. They seemed like they were enjoying themselves. I actually assumed they were on a date."

Lorelai sighed and slumped down into a chair at the counter. "I had hoped that they were. I guess it didn't turn out well though. I found Rory bawling on the porch."

Luke sighed and leaned against the counter. "Oh."

"What no I'll kill him if he hurt her?" Lorelai asked surprised that Luke hadn't said it

Luke looked at Lorelai for a long second before finally talking. "Lorelai... you know I love Rory and I would protect her from every guy in the world if I could, but you and I both know that if anyone was hurt tonight it wasn't Rory. You and I both know that Tristin would never hurt her. I'm willing to bet anything she crushed him tonight."

xxxxxx

She remembered the look of pure sadness in his face when she said they were just friends. She knew she had hurt him but by the time she realized it, it was over and he was gone. She kept going over the night in her head, reliving every moment. It had been the perfect night, with the exception of the Dean moments. He had held her hand most of the night, laughed when she smothered her face into his shoulder throughout the scary parts of the movie but still allowed her to cuddle with him, he snuck the real red vines into the theater for her since he knew she loved them. She was an idiot. Clearly they had been on a date. She had known that when she told Dean they were, but at the unsure look on Tristin's face when he heard her telling Dean that she had panicked and told him it was just to get Dean away from them. She had been staring at him silently willing him to kiss her before everything went all wonky, and now all she wanted was for him to come back and talk to her.

xxxxxx

Tristin was sitting in his car at the city limits sign trying to force himself to drive through and go home but he couldn't do it. He jumped a mile in the air when he heard a loud tapping on his window. He looked up and sighed. "Jesus Luke! Wear a bell or something." he snapped

Luke smiled. "I'm overlooking that because I know you're upset. Is everything ok?"

"Yeah why wouldn't it be?" Tristin asked with fake confidence

"Because you're car hasn't moved from this spot in over ten minutes." Luke said knowingly

Tristin sighed before turning his car off and getting out. "What's wrong with me?"

Luke looked at him quizzically, not sure what answer he wanted.

"I'm a glutton for punishment. She tells me she hates me. I forgive it. She makes me think that she likes me, then dates Jake. She tells Dean we're on a date then tells me she just wanted him to go away! What is wrong with me! Why do I keep coming back? Why am I doing this to myself?" he yelled practically crying by the end

Luke looked at him and his heart broke. "Because you're in love with her and deep down you know that it's not unrequited. She loves you. She's scared. And you know it and that's why you keep come back. Because you're in love with her." Luke said simply

xxxxxx

Lorelai walked back into the house to see Rory silently sitting on the couch not moving at all. The TV was on but it was obvious that Rory wasn't actually watching it. "You ok kid?" Lorelai asked

Rory didn't answer and didn't turn her head to look at Lorelai either.

"Ror?" Lorelai tried again still getting no response. "I know that something happened…." Lorelai started only to be interrupted by loud banging on the front door. "What the hell…" she snapped while pulling open the door, "Tristin?" she said softly

Rory's head snapped upward. "What are you doing here?" she asked him surprised at his presence

Tristin strode over to Rory and looked at her purposely. "I need to know what we are, and don't say friends, because we have never just been friends."

"Tristin I don't…"

"Just tell me how you feel Rory!" he snapped

"I…I…" she stammered off not answering him

He sighed. "Do you like me?"

"You know that I do…" Rory said finally able to get out a whole sentence

"Do you love me?"

Rory gasped silently. "Tris…"

"Do.. You… Love… Me? It's a simple question Rory. You either do or you don't."

"It's not a simple question…"

"Yes it is. It's one that you should be able to answer without hesitation."

"Well… do you love…?"

"Yes." He answered before she even got the word me out "How I feel about you has never been up for debate. You know how I feel. How do you feel? Do you love me?"

Rory sighed and paused looking at him for a long second. The second was long enough for Tristin to decide she didn't and he started to walk away. "Tristin stop!" she yelled

Tristin spun back around. "Why? I'm not going to sit here and be your lapdog anymore. I was patient. I've done everything you wanted me to do. I changed for you. And if you don't love me…"

"I do love you." she spat out fast surprising him and herself at the same time

"What?" he asked hesitantly

"I love you." she said slower this time

"Say it again." he pleaded smiling the entire time

"I… love… you." she said this time smiling herself

Tristin quickly closed the gap that was left between the two of them. "That was all I needed to hear." He said softly before pulling her into a passionate kiss.

AN: That's it… the end… the completion… story done… story over… finally… read and review people…


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